A Douyin vlogger exposed the living conditions of this mother of eight in a small village in Xuzhou. Heartbreaking and inhumane - she was literally chained up and left out in the cold. Full story here: whatsonweibo.com/mother-of-eigh…
The story has led to a social media storm, with some expressing their anger through art and images.
To give the full story, here is the original video that caused the social media storm, which is still ongoing today (tw distressing content, not sure why the lock is blurred, as if that is the most shocking thing about this video..)
Meanwhile, the husband is proudly talking about their 8 kids (7 boys, 1 girl), youngest still a baby. This is what the online anger is also about: how could she even have babies while suffering from mental illness? When did she become this way? Was she used as a breeding machine?
And also: how is this all legal? More to come on this as the case is allegedly being investigated now. According to one female National People Congress member (private Weibo account), the woman has been sent to a hospital and kids are being relocated. No official statements yet.
Finally, some mainstream media reported this also. Bit late, but here's BBC: bbc.com/news/uk-601940…
Did not yet include the latest official statement of 30th. It states that Mrs. Yang was a beggar and that she was taken in by the Dong family and married her husband in 1998 (ID papers were not properly verified). Afterwards, the family allegedly found out she had mental issues.
After having two kids the local family planning department "implemented birth control measures" but that apparently didn't work out and they failed to follow up. Yangs condition is said to have worsened since 6/2021. The family would put a chain on her when she was agressive.
It's being investigated if Dong can be held criminally liable for this. Yang has been seen by doctors and is currently being treated and is receiving medication for schizophrenia. They said there's no indication that Yang was a victim of human trafficking.
Local authorities have issued a follow-up to this story. Yang turns out to be Xiao Huamei from a village in Yunnan. But the latest statement again raises a lot of questions and triggers a lot of anger. Read: whatsonweibo.com/follow-up-to-t…
Meanwhile, more illustrations and graphic artworks dedicated to Yang and her situation are now circulating on Chinese social media.
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