Chinese internet users remain indignant about “foreigner privilege” in their country following a case of unequal punishment on the metro in Nanjing.
On July 10, a netizen broke the news online that when subway staff had carried out an inspection on one train, they had fined a Chinese passenger for eating on the metro while letting go a foreign passenger who was wolfing down a sandwich with only a warning.
The report stirred up anger online, resulting in the Nanjing Metro responding that the foreigner had only been warned because of the language barrier and admitting that the way the situation was handled was indeed “unfair,” promising to strengthen management going forward.
Eating has been outlawed on the Nanjing Metro for years. Violators can receive a fine of between 20 yuan to 100 yuan ($3 to $14).
This becomes the third incident in the past week which net users have made viral by complaining about “foreigner privilege” in China, following on the heels of an Egyptian student getting off with a nary a slap on the wrist after shoving around a traffic cop in the street and male international students at Shandong University being allocated multiple female Chinese “buddies.”