Photo shows that a black man slaps a Chinese man around the head twice while riding the subway.(Photo/Screenshot)
Many media outlets described a recent incident on the Guangzhou subway that went viral online as being sparked by racial abuse, however the video itself seems to suggest that it was actually a case of theft.
In the video that was posted Sunday on a Weibo account that has since spread widely online, a black man slaps a Chinese man around the head twice while riding the subway.
Guangzhou police said Wednesday that they are investigating the case after receiving reports, but refused to give more details.
The post accompanying the video simply read "what's going on" without explaining why the man slapped the local.
British newspaper the Daily Mail reported this incident on Sunday under the headline "Watch the violent moment an English-speaking tourist SLAPS a Chinese man twice after he allegedly calls him a 'black devil' on subway."
The article claimed that the man receiving the beating in the video had called the slapper heigui, literally meaning "black devil." This explanation was then repeated in other British newspapers and even in the Chinese press.
Seeing these reports, some Chinese netizens criticized the Chinese man, saying he should not have insulted the black man, while others said the blame for the incident lay with the foreigner, who should not have resorted to violence.
However, there is no evidence for this interpretation in the clip that was posted online and the Daily Mail article simply says that the insult was uttered before the camera started rolling.
However, the black man can be heard saying "don't you ever do that! Don't you ever take my phone again… I'll take you to the police right now," which suggests that the slaps were in retaliation for a theft.
The Daily Mail did not respond to emails from the Global Times about this story.
