A man in Fangchenggang, Guangxi, China got into an argument with a female driver over yielding the road while driving. The woman was accused of flashing an ID, and after the incident, police officers reportedly required the man to delete his online post and apologize. Following an official investigation, authorities announced that the woman had illegally used her firefighter husband’s law enforcement ID. The fire rescue unit and police are now conducting an investigation.
According to reports from The Paper, Langchao News, and Jimu News, the incident occurred on July 22. The 33-year-old male driver surnamed Li claimed that, while driving on a rural road in Fangchenggang City, he met a Mercedes-Benz vehicle driven by a 28-year-old woman surnamed Hou. Hou flashed a certificate marked “administrative law enforcement”, allegedly pressuring Li to yield the road. A man traveling with Hou even stated Li’s home address and other private information in front of him.
After failing to get a satisfactory response from relevant departments, Li posted a video of the incident online, which garnered tens of millions of views. On July 31, officers from the local police station visited him late at night, claiming that his video leaked the opponent’s license plate and infringed on privacy, demanding he take the video down and apologize. Reportedly, Li, under pressure, deleted the original video but posted an edited version, which again drew wide attention.
Li believed that since he had been away from home for years, the fact that the other party could identify his personal information from just his license plate suggested an abuse of authority by public employees.
Investigations by Upstream News and China News Weekly revealed that, on Sunday (August 3), the Fangchenggang Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government released a report. It stated that Li was driving a white Haval SUV on a narrow rural road in Jiangshan Town, Fangcheng District, when an argument arose over right-of-way with Hou, who was driving a black Mercedes-Benz SUV. “After Li refused Hou’s unreasonable demand to reverse his car, Hou retrieved an ID card marked ‘administrative law enforcement’ from her car and flashed it at Li. During the episode, the passenger stated Li’s surname and home address.”
Li had reported the incident to local authorities but did not get a satisfactory response, so, on July 31, he uploaded his dashcam footage to the internet.
The investigation found that Hou, the female driver, was an employee at a private enterprise and not a public official. The ID she flashed belonged to her husband, Lei, who had left the “People’s Republic of China Administrative Law Enforcement Certificate” in her car. Hou showed it to intimidate Li and force him to yield. Lei works as a Fire Sergeant (Level 2) at a township fire and rescue station in Shangsi County, Fangchenggang.
The investigation group said: “Hou’s behavior, after being exposed online, caused negative social impact. The police are investigating according to the law. Although Lei was not present at the time, he violated relevant regulations on the management of official documents by failing to safeguard an ID that should have been in his possession, leaving it in his wife’s private car, which enabled its illegal use and led to serious adverse consequences. This amounts to a suspected breach of professional discipline, and the Fangchenggang Fire Rescue Detachment has launched an internal investigation.”
In addition, the investigation found that Hou’s father was in the car at the time. The Hou family home is approximately 800 meters from Li’s parents’ house—the two families are distant relatives from neighboring villages. Hou’s father recognized Li and his parents.
During the dispute over the right-of-way, Hou’s father got out to mediate, recognized Li as a relative, and informed Hou of Li’s family address, helping direct her to pull over and allow passage. Since Li has lived away for years, he did not recognize Hou and her father, and became suspicious when his address was stated at the scene.
As for reports that police asked Li to delete the video and apologize, the investigation found that, on July 31, Hou, her father, and her husband reported to Jiashan Border Police Station that Hou’s car’s license plate was posted on Douyin and that she was receiving repeated automated text messages from traffic control platforms across many provinces, likely due to her car information being leaked online and possibly used for illegal number plates. They requested police assistance.
According to reports from The Paper, Langchao News, and Jimu News, the incident occurred on July 22. The 33-year-old male driver surnamed Li claimed that, while driving on a rural road in Fangchenggang City, he met a Mercedes-Benz vehicle driven by a 28-year-old woman surnamed Hou. Hou flashed a certificate marked “administrative law enforcement”, allegedly pressuring Li to yield the road. A man traveling with Hou even stated Li’s home address and other private information in front of him.
After failing to get a satisfactory response from relevant departments, Li posted a video of the incident online, which garnered tens of millions of views. On July 31, officers from the local police station visited him late at night, claiming that his video leaked the opponent’s license plate and infringed on privacy, demanding he take the video down and apologize. Reportedly, Li, under pressure, deleted the original video but posted an edited version, which again drew wide attention.
Li believed that since he had been away from home for years, the fact that the other party could identify his personal information from just his license plate suggested an abuse of authority by public employees.
Investigations by Upstream News and China News Weekly revealed that, on Sunday (August 3), the Fangchenggang Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government released a report. It stated that Li was driving a white Haval SUV on a narrow rural road in Jiangshan Town, Fangcheng District, when an argument arose over right-of-way with Hou, who was driving a black Mercedes-Benz SUV. “After Li refused Hou’s unreasonable demand to reverse his car, Hou retrieved an ID card marked ‘administrative law enforcement’ from her car and flashed it at Li. During the episode, the passenger stated Li’s surname and home address.”
Li had reported the incident to local authorities but did not get a satisfactory response, so, on July 31, he uploaded his dashcam footage to the internet.
The investigation found that Hou, the female driver, was an employee at a private enterprise and not a public official. The ID she flashed belonged to her husband, Lei, who had left the “People’s Republic of China Administrative Law Enforcement Certificate” in her car. Hou showed it to intimidate Li and force him to yield. Lei works as a Fire Sergeant (Level 2) at a township fire and rescue station in Shangsi County, Fangchenggang.
The investigation group said: “Hou’s behavior, after being exposed online, caused negative social impact. The police are investigating according to the law. Although Lei was not present at the time, he violated relevant regulations on the management of official documents by failing to safeguard an ID that should have been in his possession, leaving it in his wife’s private car, which enabled its illegal use and led to serious adverse consequences. This amounts to a suspected breach of professional discipline, and the Fangchenggang Fire Rescue Detachment has launched an internal investigation.”
In addition, the investigation found that Hou’s father was in the car at the time. The Hou family home is approximately 800 meters from Li’s parents’ house—the two families are distant relatives from neighboring villages. Hou’s father recognized Li and his parents.
During the dispute over the right-of-way, Hou’s father got out to mediate, recognized Li as a relative, and informed Hou of Li’s family address, helping direct her to pull over and allow passage. Since Li has lived away for years, he did not recognize Hou and her father, and became suspicious when his address was stated at the scene.
As for reports that police asked Li to delete the video and apologize, the investigation found that, on July 31, Hou, her father, and her husband reported to Jiashan Border Police Station that Hou’s car’s license plate was posted on Douyin and that she was receiving repeated automated text messages from traffic control platforms across many provinces, likely due to her car information being leaked online and possibly used for illegal number plates. They requested police assistance.
Hou’s father claimed he knew where Li’s family lived but did not have contact information, and asked the police to accompany him to find Li and resolve the issue. Police responded by sending one officer and one auxiliary officer, who arrived at Li’s family home only to find he was not present. They informed Li’s mother of the issue and asked for Li’s contact information.
The officer subsequently reached Li by phone and spoke for about six minutes, explained that the video had leaked Hou’s license plate information and could constitute a civil infringement, and relayed the complaints from Hou’s group—specifically the requests to delete the video and apologize—which Li refused. The officer attempted to mediate repeatedly that evening, but failed to resolve the issue. The officer’s actions that night are documented by his body camera. Ultimately, police advised Hou to retain evidence and, if necessary, to pursue civil litigation.
The investigation found that the officers used body cameras through the entire visit, and found no illegal, irregular, or inappropriate conduct, though the communication by phone with Li was not as standardized or precise as it should have been. The Border Management Brigade of Fangchenggang City Public Security Bureau has since given a stern reprimand and education to those officers involved.
The officer subsequently reached Li by phone and spoke for about six minutes, explained that the video had leaked Hou’s license plate information and could constitute a civil infringement, and relayed the complaints from Hou’s group—specifically the requests to delete the video and apologize—which Li refused. The officer attempted to mediate repeatedly that evening, but failed to resolve the issue. The officer’s actions that night are documented by his body camera. Ultimately, police advised Hou to retain evidence and, if necessary, to pursue civil litigation.
The investigation found that the officers used body cameras through the entire visit, and found no illegal, irregular, or inappropriate conduct, though the communication by phone with Li was not as standardized or precise as it should have been. The Border Management Brigade of Fangchenggang City Public Security Bureau has since given a stern reprimand and education to those officers involved.