A transgender woman in China beat up a man at a restaurant before subsequently posting an anti-violence message online. 

Jiang Yan, an online beauty influencer with more than 40,000 followers, had been eating in a Haidilao hotpot establishment in Hunan when a man reportedly hit and insulted her. She retaliated in response.

She has since released a video, explaining why she felt her actions were justified.

A transgender woman beat up a man for mocking her at a hotpot restaurant in Hunan province, China, before posting an anti-violence message

Image credits: douyin

A recent one-minute clip circulating on social media in mainland China showed a man, whose identity has not been revealed, throwing objects and yelling at a group of people.

The video then cuts to Yan pinning him to the ground to slap him repeatedly, grabbing him by the hair, and dragging him around. She is then seen hitting his face using her high-heeled shoe.

The influencer later posted a video saying that the man had claimed to be a lawyer from Hong Kong. He had reportedly insulted her by calling the people of Hunan “poor and ugly” before proceeding to throw food and other objects at her.

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She said he hit her in the temple with his phone multiple times, which prompted her to fight back, adding that she had a background in martial arts training.

The man’s comments had allegedly been “inciting regional discrimination.”

“I have become a woman, but if my hometown needs me, I will still stand up and fight for it without hesitation,” Yan wrote.

The man—who was instead a Hunan-based office worker—apologized after authorities got involved, saying he was drunk, but denied any attempt to cause regional discrimination. 

The clip divided the public, with some supporting the woman while others viewed her aggressive actions as unnecessary

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草，没绷住 pic.twitter.com/Pe4k2Mcpk6

— 文亘古遗🐒四代目（马应龙猎妈版） (@wengenguyi4) October 12, 2024

One person labeled Yan as “the real-life female Wu Song,” a legendary warrior in Chinese folklore, a martial arts student who killed a tiger with his bare hands to protect others. They commended Yan for “bravely standing up for her hometown’s reputation.”

Another person said, “I support you to be the governor of the Hunan province.” 

But others said her response was inappropriate.

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“Responding to violence with violence can only bring more injustice and suffering,” a user wrote. “The right thing to do would have been to gather evidence, call the police, and stay away from the drunk man.”

One polarizing comment read, “The attacker is transgender. Although China does not support LGBT, he still wrote on Wechat that he was justified in beating Hong Kong independence activists and would participate in the war to invade Taiwan in the future.” 

Yan has since addressed the comments on her video, providing an update on the altercation

Image credits: BeeLady__

Weakest Chinese woman vs strongest Chinese man
byu/4chanactivist inAsia_irl

On October 18, the influencer said, “We’ve both apologized to each other. I hope people stop calling me the ‘Wu Song’ and stop focusing on this incident.”

After reflecting on her behavior, Yan said she condemned violence in any form and that the two reportedly plan on issuing a public apology to the hotpot restaurant chain for any damage they may have caused. 

In China, a person who intentionally causes injury to another can be sentenced to imprisonment for no longer than five years or a fine of up to 500,000 RMB (~ $70,000 USD). 

People who live in mainland China have vastly different views of transgender rights than those in North America

Image credits: douyin

Though there is limited research on public attitudes toward transgender laws in China, a 2016 study revealed many families have a low acceptance rate of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex (LGBTQ+) people.

57.6% of respondents indicated a “low acceptance” or “complete rejection” in their families. More than half were “not sure” about the levels of acceptance in schools, workplaces, or religious communities.

Nearly 90% of families did not welcome transgender family members, and 70.8% of transgender people experienced school violence.

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Image credits: douyin

China has always been particularly silent in terms of transgender rights, so without a comprehensive law, there are only a few restrictions when it comes to discrimination based on “sex,” especially in settings such as school and work.

According to the World Report 2024 by Human Rights Watch, however, there has been progress in recent years.

Image credits: douyin

It read, “In February, the Court of Final Appeal ruled that the government’s requirement that transgender men undergo ‘full sex reassignment surgery’ to change their legal gender was unconstitutional.

“In September, the top court ordered the government to establish a legal framework for recognizing same-sex partnerships.”

Most comments were supportive of Yan for standing her ground

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