• ABOUT
  • ADVERTISE
  • SUPPORT
  • CONTACT
  • WORK
Monday, February 18, 2019
Shanghaiist
8 °c
Shanghai
7 ° Sat
6 ° Sun
6 ° Mon
5 ° Tue
5 ° Wed
9 ° Thu
  • NEWS

    Trump praises China’s use of death penalty for drug dealers, implies that the US should follow suit

    Chinese billionaire calls Australia a “giant baby” after having his permanent residency revoked

    Air NZ flight to Shanghai was forced to turn back because of Taiwan reference in paperwork

    China releases video of Uighur musician to show he wasn’t tortured to death in re-education camp

    On mock cooking show, Taiwan premier trolls China with Winnie the Pooh doll

    China does even worse than usual in latest global freedom ranking

    “Exploitation.” Awkward translation faux pas spotted at China-Africa friendship event

    US hits Huawei with 23 criminal indictments for violating Iran sanctions, stealing trade secrets

    Canada’s ambassador to China fired after making more controversial comments about Meng Wanzhou case

    George Soros calls Xi Jinping the world’s “most dangerous opponent” to open societies

    Bing is back! Microsoft’s search engine is no longer blocked in China

    Chinese meat giant’s stocks surge after founder returns home following 3-year “disappearance”

    Canada’s ambassador to China says Meng Wanzhou has a “strong case” for fighting extradition

    China has blocked Bing

    Chinese-Australian writer Yang Hengjun detained in China

    McDonald’s accused of supporting Taiwan independence with “controversial” commercial

    Massive sky corridor connected atop four skyscrapers in Chongqing

    Huawei founder says his company does not spy for China and would refuse if Beijing asked

    China issues travel alert of its own, warning its citizens about visiting Canada

    Canada issues China travel warning after Canadian is sentenced to death for drug smuggling

  • L!FE
  • FOOD
  • GALLERY
  • VIDEO

    This is what a ¥10,000 seafood dinner looks like in Guangzhou

    WATCH: Heroic firefighter drags burning gas cylinder out of house

    WATCH: How to run a tea scam at Starbucks

    WATCH: Dude writes Chinese calligraphy on stone with power grinder

    WATCH: Rodrigo Duterte, Kim Jong-un impersonators mobbed in Hong Kong

    WATCH: Incredible synchronized performance from Shaolin students at this year’s Spring Festival Gala

    WATCH: Aerial footage of massive 5 km long traffic jam on Guangdong expressway during CNY rush

    PLA soldiers celebrate Chinese New Year by forming the shape of Peppa the Pig

    Photography Friday: An interview with Huang Xiaoliang

    Hangzhou hotel opens up hot pot-style hot spring for hungry guests

    Boy puts lit fireworks down manhole cover, blows up sidewalk

    Meet the kids who grew up in Chinese restaurants

    WATCH: Apple marks Chinese New Year with short, sweet film shot by Jia Zhangke on an iPhone XS

    Chinese internet falls in love with big fluffy emotional support dog on passenger plane

    WATCH: Bull escapes slaughterhouse, charges woman in restaurant

    WATCH: Aerial footage of Wuhan’s mindblowingly massive bullet train maintenance center

    WATCH: Shanxi principal replaces boring morning exercise routine with super cool dance moves

    WATCH: Laowai rents a Chinese dad

    WATCH: Chinese passersby get asked if they live in a democratic country

    Space-saving inclined parking lot opens for business in Chongqing

  • EVENTS
    • DINING
      • BRUNCH
      • AFTERNOON TEA
    • NIGHTLIFE
      • LADIES’ NIGHT
      • HAPPY HOUR
      • MUSIC
    • EXHIBITIONS
      • ART SHOWS
      • TRADE FAIRS
    • COMMUNITY
    • EDUCATION
    • ★ LIST YOUR EVENT
    • ★ BE A VENUE PARTNER
    • ★ SUBMIT A GALLERY
  • TICKETS
    • FAQ
No Result
View All Result
Shanghaiist
No Result
View All Result
Shanghaiist
No Result
View All Result

Chinese family ignites international incident after being dragged out of hotel lobby in Sweden by police

Netizens have accused the family of being overly-dramatic, trying to make a scene when the whole thing was really their fault

by Alex Linder
September 17, 2018
in News

A Chinese family being kicked out of a Swedish hostel by police in the middle of the night has ignited an unusual diplomatic spat between China and Sweden, as well as controversy on Chinese social media.

At just after midnight on September 2nd, a Chinese man, surnamed Zeng, arrived with his parents, both in their sixties, at the popular Generator Stockholm hostel in Sweden’s capital. Problem was, the family had booked a room for the night of September 2nd and would not be allowed to check in until 2 pm that afternoon.

After being told that all of the rooms were fully booked for the night, the Zengs asked to be allowed to stay in the lobby in the meantime. While staff initially agreed to the request, they allegedly changed their tune when Zeng brought in another Chinese tourist from outside who was apparently in a similar situation. Staff then asked Zeng’s family to leave. The situation soon got heated.

When the family refused to leave, hostel staff called the police. In a video shared by Zeng, two female police officers can be seen carrying his father out of the hostel by his hands and knees. Meanwhile, Zeng shouts in English: “This is killing people! This is Sweden police!”

A video by the Swedish publication Aftonbladet which features footage supplied by an eyewitness offers a different perspective. In it, Zeng is seen suddenly collapsing to the sidewalk in tears in front of the two female officers, joining his mother and father on the ground, one wailing loudly, while the other is lying motionless. “Here, people are sick! Who can help him?” Zeng shouts while pointing to his father.

Writing on WeChat, Zeng claims that his father is in fragile health and nearly lost consciousness during the struggle. He claims that both of his parents were roughly handled by police, resulting in bruises:

After being loaded into a police car, Zeng says that his family was driven around for about an hour before they were all dumped off at a cemetery on the outskirts of Stockholm in the middle of the night. Zeng says that it was quite cold outside and that the family had to huddle together for warmth until they were picked up by a passing vehicle and taken back to the city about half an hour later.

“I could not imagine this happening in any modern country, especially Sweden, the hometown of the Nobel Prize,” Zeng told the state-run Global Times tabloid. “It is so sarcastic that they talk about human rights all the time.”

While Zeng immediately filed a complaint with the police and the Chinese embassy, the incident only really started to attract attention on Saturday when the embassy issued a statement, accusing Stockholm police of having “severely endangered the life and violated the basic human rights of the Chinese citizens.” The embassy called for a thorough investigation into the incident, along with an apology and compensation for the family.

The following day, China’s ambassador to Sweden, Gui Congyou, accused Swedish police of refusing to meet with him or embassy staff about the incident, asking if the Zengs had broken the law, then why was the embassy not informed?

On Monday, China’s foreign ministry joined the fray with spokesman Geng Shuang accusing Sweden of flouting diplomatic norms by ignoring the Chinese embassy’s requests for dialogue. The Stockholm police have said that they are currently carrying out an investigation into the matter. It remains unclear why they were apparently dropped off in front of a cemetery.

Since Saturday, the incident has become the hottest topic on Chinese social media with the Weibo page of Sweden’s tourism ministry being bombarded with angry comments. However, many Chinese web users are not on the Zengs’ side, lambasting the family and accusing them of being a bunch of shameless crybaby “pengci” practitioners.

“Pengci” is a Chinese word for those scammers in China who throw themselves in front of cars and fake injuries in order to hopefully earn some compensation money. Many couldn’t help but see similarities in the Zengs’ dramatic, tear-filled sidewalk performance in front of police.

In an interview with the Global Times on Monday, Zeng claimed that he and his parents were not faking or exaggerating their emotions. “I broke down and lost my mind. I wasn’t able to think if it was appropriate or not. I just wanted to condemn the police and get help from passersby,” he said.

The Zengs have since moved on to Holland and appear to be having a swell time.

[Images via Global Times]

Share this:

  • Pocket
  • Telegram
  • Print
Shanghaiist

© 2005-2018 Shanghaiist - China in bite-sized portions!

Navigate Site

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Join the Community
  • List Your Event
  • Be a Venue Partner
  • Submit a Gallery
  • Work with us
  • Privacy & Terms
  • Contact

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • NEWS
  • L!FE
  • FOOD
  • GALLERY
  • VIDEO
  • EVENTS
    • DINING
      • BRUNCH
      • AFTERNOON TEA
    • NIGHTLIFE
      • LADIES’ NIGHT
      • HAPPY HOUR
      • MUSIC
    • EXHIBITIONS
      • ART SHOWS
      • TRADE FAIRS
    • COMMUNITY
    • EDUCATION
    • ★ LIST YOUR EVENT
    • ★ BE A VENUE PARTNER
    • ★ SUBMIT A GALLERY
  • TICKETS
    • FAQ

© 2005-2018 Shanghaiist - China in bite-sized portions!