The northern Chinese city of Tangshan has been stripped of an honorary national title as the consequences of four women’s attack on a restaurant earlier this month continue.
The Civilization Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee announced on Wednesday that it had decided to remove Tangshan from the list of “nationally civilized cities” — the highest recognition for a Chinese city.
“The honor of a civilized city belongs to all citizens and must not be slandered or desecrated,” said China City News, a news outlet of the official People’s Daily. “Faced with so many problems, Tangshan clearly did not show the warmth of a [civilised] City.”
The attack on four female guests by a group of men on June 10 shocked the nation and sparked a broader discussion of violence against women among Chinese people online. Nine men have since been arrested in connection with the attack and at least five local police officers have been investigated in the past 24 hours in connection with the incident.
According to Chinese media, Tangshan has been honored with the title of “civilized city” for four consecutive years, most recently in 2020. The title was introduced in 2005 and is awarded every three years. Almost half of the country’s 600 cities, counties and municipalities had received the title late last year.
Sign up for First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every weekday morning at 7am BST
Cities are evaluated according to the status of their overall development, their surroundings and their attractiveness for people from outside. Grading is done through central government inspections, and the title is reviewed every three years.
The attack has put Tangshan in the national spotlight. In recent days, Chinese media reported that one of the defendants – surnamed Chen – had previously been involved in other legal cases, including money laundering.
The revelation prompted the city’s local party committee to call for a thorough investigation into the incident “to find out which government officials had interests and connections with Chen and others.” [suspects]“.