Editor's Note: This article has been deleted from the original source.
Original: Uncle Cat
Recently, including Hubei Province, the data related to the new crown pneumonia epidemic in various provinces across the country has shown a positive trend. The latest data shows that on February 17th, the number of newly confirmed cases in areas outside Hubei Province was 79, falling below 100, achieving a continuous two-week decline.
This is closely related to the epidemic prevention and control measures taken nationwide.
However, at the grassroots level, basic epidemic prevention and control measures have become more stringent. From a family being slapped for playing mahjong at home to property management companies not allowing tenants to enter, there have even been cases of violating laws and infringing on human rights under the guise of epidemic prevention and control.
- Slapped for playing mahjong at home, playing cards reprimanded
During the epidemic, everyone stayed at home. If you don't move, I won't move. Zhong Lao said that you can only move if you can.
In their own homes, playing mahjong for leisure and passing the boring time of not being able to go out should be normal.
However, a family of three in Xiaogan, Hubei, was slapped by epidemic prevention personnel for playing mahjong at home.
Recently, a short video went viral. The video tells the story of a family of three playing mahjong at home in Xiaogan, Hubei, being reported. A man wearing camouflage clothing and a red armband rushed into their home and immediately started smashing the mahjong tiles. One of the young men playing mahjong retaliated by throwing a mahjong tile back.
(Note from CDT: Due to the inability to save GIFs, please refer to the related reading at the end of the article for the relevant video.)
This act attracted more volunteers wearing red armbands. Several of them forcibly restrained the man and controlled him. In the video, you can see a volunteer slapping the man in pajamas in the face, continuously slapping him in the face, and finally dragging the mahjong table to the door and smashing it.
(Note from CDT: Due to the inability to save GIFs, please refer to the related reading at the end of the article for the relevant video.)
At the end of the video, the young man who was beaten asked, "Can't a family eat together?"
Similar incidents have also occurred. In Anlu City, Hubei, a family of four was publicly reprimanded for playing poker at home.
According to a video posted by blogger @Beijing People Don't Know Beijing Things, four people wearing masks can be seen standing in front of a sign that says "Anlu City, Fushui Town, Dong". They say together, "We are a family of four. Today, we played poker at home, which violated the order of not gathering and not playing cards during this special period. We were wrong."
There are also reports that several men and women playing cards were tied together and paraded through the streets, reading relevant regulations aloud...
People playing mahjong were asked to carry tables and parade through the streets.
Reprimanded on the street.
Epidemic prevention personnel in a residential area in Xi'an used the excuse of not being able to walk dogs during the epidemic to beat a pet dog to death. (Note from CDT: Due to the inability to save GIFs, please refer to the related reading at the end of the article for the relevant video.)
"Home quarantine" was an important part of epidemic prevention and control during this epidemic, but with a deepening understanding of epidemic prevention, this measure has been adjusted in a timely manner. Since February 13th, official media outlets have stopped using the term "home quarantine". However, in the above cases, grassroots epidemic prevention personnel forcibly entered private homes and prohibited all forms of entertainment, which clearly exceeded the limits of the law.
The Criminal Law has clear provisions: those who illegally search others' bodies or residences, or illegally invade others' residences, shall be sentenced to less than three years of fixed-term imprisonment, criminal detention, or control. Without a document issued by law enforcement agencies, they cannot forcibly enter someone's home. There is even a suspicion of crime in collectively beating the masses.
- Beaten, tied to the wall, handcuffed for not wearing masks
Similar situations are also reflected in the details of "wearing masks".
On February 12th, a Weibo influencer with over two million followers, @青游记，posted a Weibo with a video.
In the video, an elderly man was verbally abused and physically assaulted for not wearing a mask. The person filming the video even hit him. The person hitting him said through gritted teeth, "I told you to wear a mask." The elderly man raised his hands in surrender, looking confused and scared, and said while being hit, "Wear, wear, wear."
(Note from CDT: Due to the inability to save GIFs, please refer to the related reading at the end of the article for the relevant video.)
This short video instantly sparked discussions among netizens.
From the video, it can be seen that the elderly man was not in a crowded place, but in an open field. According to the whistleblower, the incident occurred in Zengwan District, Yanglingou Town, Hanchuan City, Hubei Province. "The elderly man was farming in the field and encountered this group of people."
The "Mask Usage Guide" for preventing new crown pneumonia published by the People's Daily mentions that masks are not required in open and well-ventilated areas outside the epidemic area.
On February 10th, in Fengcheng, Jiangxi, teacher Yan Danjun went for a jog in his own community (Fuzhe Qinyuan Community) after being confined at home for more than ten days, without wearing a mask while running.
Subsequently, Yan Danjun was discovered by community epidemic prevention personnel and immediately dissuaded. He told the staff, "Academician Zhong Nanshan once said that masks are not necessary in places where there is no dense population flow."
Although the "reasoning" is based on the authoritative statement of Academician Zhong, the staff did not listen at all.
The next day, Yan Danjun was forcibly quarantined at a designated isolation site. On February 13th, the Education and Sports Bureau of Fengcheng City issued a notice deciding to give him an administrative demerit.
In addition, there were villagers who were tied to the wall for not wearing masks.
On February 13th, a video of a villager in Puyang, Henan, being tied to the wall during the epidemic prevention and control period for not wearing a mask attracted attention.
In the video, a villager was being bound to the wall by an epidemic prevention personnel, while another epidemic prevention personnel was loudly reprimanding the villager, saying, "You forgot to wear it, do you want to live? If you don't live, other people will still live."
The villager did not have any physical conflict with the epidemic prevention personnel throughout the process. The prevention personnel claimed that tying the villager to the wall was meant to "frighten him." After being tied for a few minutes, the villager was released.
On February 17th, the local epidemic prevention and control command responded, stating that the villager did not wear a mask every day, repeatedly entered and exited the inspection point, and did not comply with advice. However, the actions of the prevention personnel were inappropriate. They have been severely criticized and educated, and the police have been involved in the investigation.
Previously, there was also a video circulating of a "girl not wearing a mask, paraded with an iron chain" incident.
According to the video content posted by blogger @飘然范舟，several police officers were conducting on-site identification work with a woman wearing handcuffs at an epidemic prevention and control point. In the video, the woman wearing a mask was being led by a female police officer with an iron chain. The woman in the video said, "I didn't wear a mask when I went out."
Being paraded with an iron chain for not wearing a mask? Being handcuffed?
The police station where the incident occurred denied this claim.
On February 17th, a police officer from the Longping Police Station of Luodian County Public Security Bureau, said that the incident occurred on February 12th. The woman, without wearing a mask, interfered with the on-site work of the staff at the epidemic prevention and control checkpoint in the community, obstructing them from performing their duties. Subsequently, the woman was administratively detained in accordance with the law. "The police officer was actually identifying the scene with the woman wearing handcuffs on the street, not the 'parading with an iron chain' as circulated on the internet."
However, how did such a short woman "collide" with the staff so violently that she had to be handcuffed? It should be noted that handcuffs are police equipment and should not be casually used unless the person is a suspected criminal or a person of significant criminal suspicion.
In addition, there was an elderly person who was beaten and had his mouth full of blood, lost his teeth, and his hands were also bleeding because he did not wear a mask when going out. When citizens tried to intervene, they were also beaten by property management personnel. The property management personnel also took away the journalist's interview equipment and mobile phone. The police were finally called, but the provocations and insults continued.
- Village and road closures
It is understandable that various places have strengthened prevention and control measures, but in the process of implementation, many "rough" actions by epidemic prevention personnel have led to verbal and physical conflicts with villagers. Some used brooms to drive people away, some used wooden sticks to hit people, and some directly pushed and shoved, and even beat them.
Conflict at the village entrance.
Physical conflict occurred.
There have also been cases of prohibiting vehicles from certain provinces from exiting the expressway, and some residential property management companies even refuse to allow residents and tenants to return.
Mr. Chen, 40 years old, is the manager of a restaurant in Wenzhou. Before the Chinese New Year, he went to visit a friend in Jiangxi. However, due to the new crown pneumonia epidemic, roads were closed in various places, and he was not allowed to enter or leave. With nowhere to stay, he had no choice but to live in his car for 14 days and eat instant noodles until he developed mouth ulcers.
This is a summary of his "epidemic journey" during the Spring Festival, which is a microcosm of the epidemic prevention and control efforts nationwide.
Previously, due to the sealing and closure of some areas, agricultural products could not be transported out and production materials could not be brought in. Farmers also had "unspoken grievances".
Even if there were vegetable vendors, they were smashed for no reason, despite their pleas.
- "No entry for non-resident tenants"
There are also cases of tenants being evicted from their homes and owners (including medical staff) not being allowed to return to their communities, all under the pretext of epidemic prevention and control.
Hangzhou communities previously stipulated that non-resident tenants were not allowed to enter before 24:00 on February 9th.
Netizens said that the notice given to us by the community was that if we wanted to return, we had to find a place to isolate ourselves without being allowed to isolate in the community.
This has left many returning workers in Hangzhou "homeless and nowhere to go".
On February 5th, a netizen posted on Weibo, "It is now two o'clock in the morning, and I have been stopped outside the community gate for more than two hours. I don't know how to express my helplessness and anger in words and actions. The hotels are all closed, so can a young girl like me only sleep on the street?"
On February 11th, the second day after returning to work, another Weibo user said, "The current situation is that the community and property management are adamant about not allowing us to enter. No matter what official documents we have, they are useless. My friend and I have been wandering the streets of Hangzhou for six days."
Compared with those who have "nowhere to go," some "lucky" netizens said, "I stayed in a hotel for 13 days and finally entered the community yesterday with the 'Hangzhou Health Code' based on the company's work resumption certificate and hotel check-in certificate."
Some commented, "This is not cheap." The netizen responded, "There is no other choice but to bear it ourselves."
Blogger @心思而行，as a citizen of Hangzhou, expressed his own opinion on this matter.
He said that the actions of some community management service providers were too extreme. They forcibly prevented innocent owners and tenants from returning home without conducting health checks or distinguishing returning residents. These epidemic prevention measures are simple and crude, which may make your epidemic prevention work easier and reduce your accountability pressure, but it has caused suffering for many people living and working in Hangzhou.
Before Wuhan issued a notice to requisition dormitories in some schools as temporary hospitals for isolating patients. Some schools, when vacating the dormitories, packed the students' belongings and threw them downstairs, treating them like garbage.
Beijing resident Xiao Xia also encountered this problem.
On January 29th, Xiao Xia received a call from the property management of her rented community in Beijing, saying, "Because of the impact of the epidemic, the community is closed, so don't come back."
Xiao Xia was confused and quickly asked, "If I can't go home, where should I stay?"
The community staff on the phone said that people from outside the city are not allowed to return to Beijing and need to go to a hotel for self-isolation for 14 days. If they really want to return to the community, they can contact the property management.
Xiao Xia asked, "When will this policy end?" The person on the phone said that there is no specific date and they are waiting for further notice.
Xiao Xia was speechless. She is not from the epidemic area in Hubei, but she has to face different treatment in Beijing. If she wants to return to Beijing to resume work as soon as possible, she has to bear the cost of a 14-day hotel stay, which is a considerable expense. If she cannot return to work on time, her salary will be affected, making it difficult for her to make a decision.
In addition to tenants, frontline workers have also faced "special treatment." Previously, a screenshot of a chat in a "community owner group where property personnel asked owners to vote against allowing medical staff to enter the community" sparked public discussion. On February 9th, the Zhengzhou Epidemic Prevention and Control Office confirmed that the screenshot was true.
Similarly, just a few days ago, a residential community in Nanyang, Henan, posted a notice stating "medical staff are not allowed to enter" because residents "are afraid that they will bring the virus back."
The Time Weekly's new media reporter saw on Weibo that in addition to Beijing and Hangzhou, there have been cases of "no entry to the community" in Shanghai, Zhengzhou, Xi'an, Suzhou, Nanjing, Shijiazhuang, Tianjin, Qingdao, Jinan, Fuzhou, Wuxi, and other cities.
During this special period, we cannot do whatever we want under the guise of epidemic prevention, and we cannot use trivial matters as a pretext for extreme actions.