New York police beat up elderly Chinese man, spark deluded Global Times editorial

By James Griffiths, January 22, 2014

The beating and arrest of an 84 year old Chinese-American grandfather by New York police has sparked outrage on both sides of the Pacific.

Wong Kang-chun was arrested on Sunday for crossing a road against a red light in New York's busy Broadway area. Witnesses said Wong couldn't understand the cops' commands to stop and a struggle ensued, in which the NYPD officers – who have been shown time and again to be racist thugs – smashed the old man's face, leading him to require stiches.

Wong was charged with four offences: jaywalking, resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, and disorderly conduct. His case has attracted considerable sympathy from Chinese online commenters: in a Sina poll, 26 percent of respondents thought the police overreacted.

Others compared the actions of the NYPD to those of China's chengguan (urban management and law enforcement officials), the country's most distrusted government agency. "In the US, we can easily understand the legal system," a typical comment read. "In China, everyone hopes for a legal system. But when you really run into trouble, the legal system [is] just treated like a fart."

Never one to miss the opportunity to criticise the US, nationalist rag the Global Times waded into the fray with an editorial titled "What if Chinese police beat a jaywalker?"

The local police would be charged with abuse of power, and the head of the local police department would have to apologize and the errant police officers could be punished or even sacked.

The local police would be charged with abuse of power, like when chengguan officers beat 53 year old fruit vendor Su Lianzhi, breaking her finger and giving her a concussion. (No chengguan were charged.)

The head of the local police department would have to apologise, like when cops hospitalised a grape vendor in Linhai. (A local government official defended the officers, saying the man's perforated intestine was caused by a cop "accidentally stepping on the [the vendor's] stomach".)

Errant police officers could be punished or even sacked, like when Shenzhen chengguan beat fruit vendor Li Yong senseless in front of multiple witnesses. (No officers were disciplined, and an official report stated that Li's injuries "were likely accidental".)

[Image via NY Post]