China social media users were in an uproar Tuesday over viral footage of a passenger dragged off an overbooked United Airlines flight, after some reports suggested he was of Chinese origin. The videos taken on the plane and posted to Twitter showed the man, reportedly identified by another passenger<\/b>
China social media users were in an uproar Tuesday over viral footage of a passenger dragged off an overbooked United Airlines flight, after some reports suggested he was of Chinese origin.
The videos taken on the plane and posted to Twitter showed the man, reportedly identified by another passenger as ethnically Chinese, being forcibly pulled screaming from his seat by three security personnel.
\u201cHe said, more or less, \u2018I\u2019m being selected because I\u2019m Chinese,\u2019\u201d fellow passenger Tyler Bridges was quoted as saying by The Washington Post. The man\u2019s ethnicity and identity were however not officially confirmed.
Twitter — along with other Western websites such as Facebook and Google — is blocked on the mainland by the country’s ruling Communist Party, which fears the unregulated spread of information it deems politically sensitive.
But footage of the Sunday showdown on the flight from Chicago to Louisville, Kentucky was reposted to China’s Twitter-like Sina Weibo, where the subject quickly became the top trending topic, garnering over 120 million views and 80,000 comments.
Many of them were highly nationalistic in tone as they decried perceived racism.
\u00ab\u00a0Shameless! We won’t forgive them. Ethnic Chinese around the world please boycott United Airlines!\u00a0\u00bb wrote one commentator.
\u00ab\u00a0There is a long history of discrimination against Asians. I hope Chinese people realise this reality and support domestic products,\u00a0\u00bb another user said.\u00a0\u00bbDon’t feed those who look down on us!\u00a0\u00bb
It is a common sentiment among many mainlanders to view ethnic Chinese living abroad — even those with no ties to China — as compatriots.
United Airlines claims itself to be the biggest carrier to China, with more nonstop US-China flights and to more Chinese cities than any other airline, according to their website.
The company did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment, but its CEO Oscar Munoz apologised for\u00a0\u00bbhaving to re-accommodate\u00a0\u00bb customers and said the manhandled passenger was being contacted directly to resolve the situation.
\u00ab\u00a0Asian American or not, as a consumer who paid for his ticket, he was treated like a prisoner,\u00a0\u00bb one Weibo commenter said.\u00a0\u00bbThings are better here at home.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n