A sad story out of Nanjing: while news cameras were rolling, a 14-year-old girl named Xiao Jin, native of Anhui province, slapped her father 10 times, and punched and jump-kicked him for good measure. The father’s measured response — getting neither upset nor defensive… in fact, doing nothing — is sad and, at times, difficult to watch.
The story gets more heartbreaking. According to the news report, when Xiao Jin was small, her parents divorced, and because they often worked far away from home, she was raised by her grandparents. This year, however, her father won custody of her, and she has so far hated life under her new caretaker.
Xiao Jin claims that her father often beats and scolds her (and, in the past, her mother) when he gets drunk. And when he goes to work, he forces her to tag along — she merely waits outside. The father admits that he’s hit her before, but only twice — and only because he wanted her to study and not mingle with the wrong crowd.
In September, when father and daughter were in Nanjing, Xiao Jin ran away and found work and lodging at a hotel. But her father dragged her back, going to a police station — with the news crew tagging along — to make it official. He said he’ll give her more space in the future, plus an allowance, and let her focus on her studies. Youku video for those in China after the jump.
