Raymond Zhou

Zhao Yan beating case

By Raymond Zhou ( chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2005-09-23 11:19

A Chinese tourist was looking around the Niagara Falls near the US-Canadian border, and she was severely beaten by a US security officer.

That was basically what happened on July 21, 2004, and yet it is fascinating how facts could be presented and could shape public opinions, including those of the jurors.

When the bruised face of Zhao Yan appeared a year ago, it sent a shockwave among the Chinese public -- and rightly so. What did she do to have deserved such cruel treatment?

However, in the subsequent rainstorm of denunciations posted in popular websites, there was rarely any judicious analysis. Many simply jumped to the conclusion that the officer did it out of malice for Chinese people per se, not thinking that there are many other nationals who look like Chinese in the American eye, let alone the tens of millions of Asian-Americans.

There seemed to be a distinct line between traditional media and the new media in covering this unfortunate incident. While the "old school" tends to adhere to journalistic principles and report on how the Chinese and the US governments dealt with each other on this matter, some "new kids on the block" have taken the sensational route, eliciting wholesale condemnation and stereotyping.

Police brutality could certainly be a justifiable issue here, but cultural difference may have played a bigger role. To Zhao Yan, the 38-year-old business woman from Tianjin, North China, it seemed an intuitive response to flee from someone who was chasing her. It may not even matter how she would have reacted in a similar situation in China because all the Hollywood movies could have conditioned her to take off and fumble.

To Robert Rhodes, the US Homeland Security officer charged with violating Zhao's civil rights and recently acquitted in the criminal case, it was his duty to arrest someone who fit the description of a drug trafficking suspect and, when Zhao fled and reached for something in her bag, used all means to stop her. There have been frequent reports, in the US, of hesitating or lenient cops who ended up being killed in their line of duty by those they were trying to detain.

Did Rhodes use excessive force? It appeared so from the photo. But again, we must examine the circumstances of how one thing led to another. Each one of them gave an account that was favorable to his or her own argument, which did not really surprise anyone. Assuming each was telling the truth, it may not be the whole selective truth. Rhodes' track record may shed light whether he has a penchant for "excessive force."

We must admit that the jurors had a ringside seat on the facts than someone like me who is getting the details from media coverage. I respect their verdict, but that did not lessen my sympathy for Zhao. She may not have acted wisely, but how could she know better? It is ludicrous to expect her to act like an American the minute she descended on the land. That's why the word "tourist" has certain connotations.

Public perception towards Zhao Yan took a sharp turn when someone leaked that hers was a government-paid pleasure trip disguised as a business trip. Online responses were swift and vicious: "She deserved the beating and it served her right," many wrote.

One could not help but marvel at the hatred that Chinese people have for corruption. However, who footed her travel bill and who was her employer is totally irrelevant to this case. The same goes for the defendant's claim that she had violated her visa restrictions by engaging in activities not allowed by her visa type. Even if she had jumped ship and was in the US illegally, she should not be treated inhumanely. That is the bottom line

My deduction is, those who were exhilarated to see a "damned corrupt person" beaten were the same ones who had earlier felt the whole Chinese nation was insulted. When news was presented in a sensational form, it would certainly evoke simplistic responses. While it is in the good spirit to care about one's compatriots, especially when they are away from homeland, it may not be rational to equate an isolated incident with a full-blown bilateral confrontation.

Sensationalizing the Rodney King beating did not help America's racial relations. Nor will this case for justice or Sino-US relations.