⚠️ TW: Anti-LGBT violence, physical assault, state silence
Please help raise awareness about a deeply disturbing case of targeted violence against gay men in China — one that is now being systematically silenced.
On July 6, a series of chat messages began circulating in private circles. They included three short videos (one duplicated), allegedly filmed in a public park in Zhengzhou, Henan province. The attackers are believed to have used gay dating apps to lure men to the location and then assault them in groups.
We don’t know the exact date these videos were recorded, but their content is harrowing.
In the first video, filmed in near darkness, three shirtless young men chase another man wearing a backpack through the park. One person films while the others attack. The victim cries for help and falls down. One assailant strikes him with a stick while the others punch and hit him. At the end, the victim climbs over a planter and runs toward a road, still shouting for help.
The second clip shows at least six young men surrounding a man sitting on the ground. A voice off-camera shouts: “Do you like men? Are you gay?” They then physically assault him, and one attacker pours an unknown liquid from a bottle onto him. The attackers appear to be in their early twenties.
The third video shows a middle-aged man surrounded and violently kicked by at least six attackers. He crouches on the ground, hands clasped together, begging them to stop.
These videos are direct documentation of hate-based violence. It’s unclear how they were leaked — but shortly after they began circulating, all traces were rapidly scrubbed from domestic platforms. The Chinese authorities have issued no public comment and appear to be suppressing all discussion of the incident.
No one should be hunted for who they are. No one should be silenced after being brutalized.
This post exists to preserve the record. If you can, please help share it, translate it, or archive it elsewhere. I will not post the videos publicly, but if you are a journalist, researcher, or human rights archivist, you may message me for further details.
Silence is complicity. Please don’t look away.
