Xuzhou chained woman incident

In late January 2022, a video circulated on the Chinese platform Douyin showing a woman, identified only as "Yang," chained by the neck to a wall inside a dilapidated hut adjoining a family home in Feng County, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province. The video showed her barefoot in winter, with disheveled hair and a mentally distressed appearance, while a man named Dong Zhimin was seen dressing children and eating nearby. The footage went viral and prompted a wave of public outcry across Chinese social media.

Local propaganda officials initially denied any wrongdoing, stating on January 28, 2022 that Yang was legally married to Dong and had been diagnosed with a mental illness, with no trafficking involved. Two days later, officials revised their account, claiming Yang had been a beggar taken in by Dong's late father in 1998 and that her identity had never been verified at the time of the marriage registration. Officials said the chain was used to prevent her from harming others as her mental condition worsened.

Public skepticism persisted, and on February 7, 2022, the Xuzhou Communist Party committee and municipal government issued a further statement indicating Yang originated from Fugong County, Yunnan, and had divorced in 1996. According to this account, a woman surnamed Sang from Yang's home village had taken her to Jiangsu for medical treatment, and Yang went missing after they disembarked a train; Sang did not report this to police or to Yang's family. On February 10, 2022, Xuzhou's official investigation team acknowledged the case involved human trafficking, naming Dong, Sang, and Sang's husband as suspects; all three were arrested and detained.

Because independent investigative journalism has significantly declined in China, ordinary internet users undertook their own inquiries, including visiting Yang's reported home village. Some volunteers investigating the case were themselves detained by police in Feng County. On February 17, 2022, a further investigation team was established by the Jiangsu provincial party committee. This inquiry identified the woman's true identity as Xiao Huamei, from Yagu Village, Zilijia Township, Fugong County, in Yunnan's Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture, and confirmed she had been a victim of multiple trafficking incidents. Six people were detained and eight lower-level officials were dismissed in connection with the case's mishandling; separately, authorities were reported to have taken punitive action against 17 officials for dereliction of duty.

On April 7, 2023, six individuals, including Dong Zhimin, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 8 to 13 years for abduction-related offenses; Dong received a 9-year sentence.

The case drew significant international media coverage, occurring during the politically sensitive period of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Commentators raised broader concerns about the treatment of rural women and individuals with mental illness in China, the persistence of human trafficking networks, and questions about potential sexual assault and the gender composition of Yang's children, which some suggested pointed to unexamined issues of female infanticide.