Chinese man and foreigner in bloody Beijing subway brawl

BEIJING: Photos and a video being circulated online showing a brawl between a Chinese man and a foreigner on the Beijing subway have become a topic of debate, according to Chinese media reports.

The Chinese man had entered into a dispute with the foreigner during the morning rush hour last week, news portal Sohu.com reported.

In the incident that took place around 8.20am last Thursday, the foreigner, who was accompanied by a woman, had been seated on the floor of the train on the southern-bound Line 10 on the Beijing subway.

The Chinese man then approached the foreigner, asking him in English to stand up and give way for passengers to move into the train, according to the report.

His request, however, sparked a quarrel between the two men, and the foreigner then punched the Chinese man in the face, two witnesses told the news portal.

Photos and the video circulating on Chinese social media showed the Chinese man bleeding from the nose and spatters of blood on the foreigner’s face.

One witness said the Chinese man had spat the blood running down his nose, on the foreigner’s face. After being hit, he called the foreigner “white trash”, the report said.

Other passengers were outraged at the foreigner’s behaviour and cornered him, according to the report. The foreigner later apologised, it said.

Both men alighted at Guomao Station near Beijing’s central business district. They were taken away by police, the report said.

The incident, which was first reported online by a popular Weibo blogger, drew many shares and comments across Chinese social media.

The matter was also reported by several Chinese media outlets including the state-run CCTV.

One top-rated comment responding to CCTV’s report on the matter said: “This is out of line. We need to extradite him back to his home country and ask for a formal apology.”

Another wrote: “Look how this expat is being spoiled in China!” – South China Morning Post