CHINA TOPIX

03/28/2024 09:53:49 am

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Wuhan, China Yellow Bus Seat Row Video Goes Viral

A video posted this week showing elderly bus riders in China attacking a young man who refused to yield his seat has gone viral with analysts saying it reflects a sharp division between older and younger generations.

The video was shot in Wuhan. Buses there offer special yellow seats intended for special use by pregnant women, handicapped persons and the elderly. Passengers, however, many times ignore the seat purposing and plop down for convenience sake.

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It was posted on a popular Chinese web portal called NetEase and then re-posted around the world. The NetEase posting had more than 150,000 views within 24 hours. Reaction was strong across the Web including Weibo and Twitter.

In this case, shot with a mobile device, a young man was shown occupying a yellow bus seat. An older man started shouting at the young man that another older man was standing and should sit in the special seat. The young man not only refused, but started yelling back.

The interaction became a full-blown altercation. Several older people attacked the young man. The entire incident sparked a viral video craze and serious discussion about the generation gap now afflicting China.

Many commenters have sided with the young man saying the older people who attacked him were fit enough to beat him, so probably didn't need special yellow bus seat treatment due to infirmity.


The take-away from the video related to the fall-out from China's one-child policy in place since 1979. China is headed toward having a third of the population over the age of 60 years with younger generations struggling to hold up the economy. This has created a divide between young and old related to resources, illustrated in this case by a yellow bus seat at Wuhan.

As for the Wuhan bus passengers involved in the incident, China News Service said nobody was hurt and nobody was arrested.

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