Ms. Zhou Zheng, a Chinese employee of Inner Mongolia Ji Tong Railway (Group) LLC., was fired on September 1, 2014 on the heels of strong protests by Southern (Inner) Mongolian netizens opposing her online messages spouting racial hatred toward the Mongolians.

On August 29, 2014, Zhou Zheng posted a message on the Chinese web chat social media Wei Xin stating that “Yes, I hate pure Mongolians. They don’t understand human language, because they are all animals. This breed should be destroyed by humanity,” followed by an icon of a little girl holding a gun and saying “go to hell”.

Angry Southern Mongolians circulated messages on Chinese social media outlets including Wei Xin, Teng Xun and Xin Lang microblogs as well as Face Book and Twitter, rallying  Mongolians to stand up against hate prejudice and racism and dehumanization of the Mongolian people as a whole.

“Railway worker Zhou Zheng, nicknamed ‘Zhoug Zihang’, is publicly insulting all of our fellow Mongolians. As a Mongolian I am shocked to see her posts, and here I am expressing my anger and protest! She is in fact stirring up ethnic conflict! Bloody lessons tell us that ethnic discrimination and racial hatred could lead to serious problems including the so-called ‘terrorism’,” an angry Southern Mongolian businessman wrote to an email group and rallied the Mongolians to contact the Hohhot Railway authorities to ask for an immediate investigation.

“If you are against racial discrimination and ethnic cleansing please dial these numbers,” the businessman left the following numbers:

Hohhot Railway Customer Complaint Center: 0086-471-12306 extension 1 then extension 9;

Hohhot Railway Letter and Visitation Office: 0086-471-224-2740

Hohhot Railway Commission for Discipline Inspection: 0086-471-224-2379

A two-page official document entitled the “Inner Mongolia Ji Tong Railway (Group) LLC Hohhot Passenger Train Crew Division Document (Nei Ji Hu Ke [2014] No.173)” states that “considering the fact that Zhou Zheng vilified the Mongolians by vicious insinuations over the Internet, causing a harmful social effect, putting our unit under tremendous public pressure, seriously disturbing the normal order of production and management and harming ethnic harmony, the Hohhot Passenger Train Crew Division here terminates Zhou Zheng’s labor contract in accordance with the decision made by the Party and Government Joint Expanded Meeting on September 1, 2014.”

To further investigate the case, the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center (SMHRIC) reached out to the Hohhot Railway Customer Complaint Center over the phone. An unidentified official from the Complaint Center confirmed the existence of the case, but declined to give out the details before providing SMHRIC with the phone number of the Propaganda Department of Ji Tong Railway Group LLC (0086-471-220-9579).

An official from the Propaganda Department surnamed Li answered SMHRIC’s phone call, and confirmed that Ms. Zhou Zheng was indeed terminated from her work for posting the message on her Wei Xin group.

“Yes, her name is Zhou Zheng, and she was terminated from work on September 1, 2014 for posting some online messages hurting the feelings of some of our Mongolian friends,” Mr. Li told SMHRIC over the phone.

“We have been closely following the reactions from Mongolian friends to this case,” Mr. Li assured the SMHRIC that “the official document (Nei Ji Hu Ke [2014] No.173) and the photo of Zhou Zheng circulated online are all authentic”.

As to what was the true motivation for her to post this message, Mr. Li explained to SMHRIC that “being a young girl, she became very emotional when posting the message after having a little quarrel with a Mongolian co-worker on a passenger train.”

“Upon receiving complaints from Mongolian friends, higher-ups of the Railway called a meeting and decided to let her go,” Mr. Li commented on the nature of the case, “we do not consider this a case of racial hatred or ethnic discrimination. Rather we consider it as a personal mistake made by an inexperienced young girl. We hope news media also help us explain it in this way to the public.”

However, the anger of the Southern Mongolians is not easily appeased by the firing of Zhou Zheng. Online discussions still continue.

“Firing her is not enough. She is advocating ethnic conflict which could possibly lead to so-called ‘terrorism’. Aren’t people executed in Xinjiang and Tibet for allegedly ‘advocating terrorism or ethnic conflict’?” a Southern Mongolian nicknamed “Distance” wrote on her Wei Xin group.

“At least TV stations at provincial and higher levels should publicize this case and broadcast the decision on her case to the public,” “Distance” said.

“Our Mongolians have long been discriminated against by the Chinese. This apparently is not a personal event, but a racial issue. But even if you punish one Chinese hatemonger, thousands more will follow, because this is not an individual’s personal emotion, but part of a national ideology of the Chinese as a whole,” Ms. Borjigin, another Southern Mongolian, commented in an email statement.

 

Official document entitled "Inner Mongolia Ji Tong Railway (Group) LLC., Hohhot Passenger Train

Crew Division Document Nei Ji Hu Ke [2014] No.173"