The Plight of One Drunken Foreigner Reminds Us That Masks Are Still Required in Beijing

With Beijing reporting three days in a row with no new infections as well as the first instance of no new infections nationwide, it appears that China's virus outbreak is subsiding. Couple that positive news with increasingly pleasant weather in the capital and you get a recipe for lazy days in the park and the slow return to life as we knew it pre-2020. While there is nothing wrong with that, the government is obviously keen to remind folks that we're not out of the woods yet, and more specifically, it's still necessary to wear to a mask. Yes, even if you're a foreigner.

One foreigner found that out the hard way on Tuesday after he tried to barge his way into a Qingnian Lu community mask-free, according to Chinese WeChat account Buyidao.

The altercation was caught on video, including footage of the apparently drunk man being pinned to the ground by community guards taken after he had allegedly scuffled with a bao'an, knocking his phone to the ground. In the video, one guard can be heard reiterating the adage: "Foreigners who come to China also must respect China’s laws," as the foreigner shouts over him in English, "If I have the virus, you have the virus!"

Meanwhile, the man’s Chinese wife argued with the guards and demanded compensation if her husband was injured. After a prolonged back and forth, including a period where the man was apparently set free by the guards, the police finally arrived and the man was taken away in handcuffs.

The incident occurred just two days after the announcement of Beijing’s first 'List of Uncivilized Park Behaviors,' to be released soon, according to Xinhua. The list is said to include 13 behaviors that park visitors should avoid and comes just weeks after the city updated its list of uncivilized behaviors applicable to all public areas to include not wearing a mask when you are sick. The updated parks behavior list takes that one step further, stating that non-mask wearing shall be considered uncivilized for all visitors.

Previously, park visitors around the city were encouraged to wear masks, but the rule had not been formalized.

Currently, we only know four of the other untoward behaviors to be specified, namely: gathering in large groups, spitting, disorderly conduct, and reselling park tickets. More than 50 volunteers have already been dispatched to parks around the city, where they will hold signs reminding visitors to wear masks, even if they are exercising.

While foreigners may not be the only ones who have skirted a few rules during the epidemic period, it pays to remember that they are far more likely to end up trending on social media for doing so, embarrassing themselves and creating a perception that foreigners are rule-breakers (case in point: last week's park gatherings).

From scuffles gone viral to new blacklisted behaviors in the city’s parks, there is plenty of reason to believe that Beijing is still on edge, and good behavior is a must.

READ: Great Wall Creates Tourist Blacklist After Visitor Caught Defacing Badaling

Images: China Daily, Buyidao (via WeChat), The Paper