TRIGGER WARNING: THIS POST AND VIDEO IS VIOLENT. VIEWER AND READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

This is absolutely disgusting. Graphic footage has gone viral of a Chinese couple being attacked by seven children and teens ( news reports states they were aged between 11 and 16). This all happened at Eastgardens (Sydney’s east), with the group of feral children attacking the couple at their apartment complex.

Good news is that the seven children and teens have been arrested, charged and have been granted conditional bail till they are required to appear at children’s court next month.

If you watch the video you can see the Chinese woman knocked to the ground and being kicked and punched by the group. A man ( who may be her partner) intervenes and gets hit in the face somewhere and is on the phone ( calling the police assumably ) and yelling to the group to get off. You can see the kicking and punching lasting at least 30 seconds or more with no bystanders really intervening.

What annoyed many Chinese Australians is all the video filming the incident instead of any of them stepping in to intervene. As the group flees after the attack you can also see a woman walking her dog stepping in to see if the woman is okay.

The woman is a 42 year old working in the pharmaceutical sector and has just moved to Sydney from Shanghai in August, 2024. She told ABC News that she feels disappointed in Australia and is scared for her safety:

“I still believe that most people in this country are good, including many people who came forward to help me after I was attacked.”

“But after the incident, I feel the life here is not safe, because you may be attacked without warning. This really took the shine off my impression of this country”, she continues.

“I hope all friends of Asian appearance, wherever they are, stay safe and look after themselves.”

Where it is not clear that this attack was racially motivated, most of us watching the video know instinctively that it likely was. The group of children and teens likely perceived Chinese and other Asian Australians as weak and meek and hence are easy targets for violent attacks. Media and police will not admit this, and really there isn’t any evidence, asides from the group of feral children and teens yelling bad words at her, but we as Asian Australians know. We know.

Lucky, the woman is okay, but I can imagine her likely reconsidering whether Australia is for her, and it does raise issues of safety for Chinese and other Asians in Australia.

We will keep an eye on this as it develops.