The video comparing law enforcement practices in China and the US posted by US journalist Jason Smith on its X account Photo: Screenshot from X

Two videos comparing how law enforcement personnel interacting with people in China and the US posted recently on X by a US journalist has sparked discussion among netizens about differences in policing practices, and more broadly different law enforcement philosophy between the two countries after the ICE fatal shooting incident in the US has continued to trigger backlash in the US.

One of the videos, shared by US journalist Jason Smith with more than 85.1K followers on his X account on January 11, juxtaposes footage of a Chinese on-duty armed police helping a young mother holding her child with images showing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers using force during an enforcement operation. In the caption, Smith wrote that "In China, the people trust the police; they certainly don't murder innocent mothers in their cars."

"Let's learn from China's example," the post wrote.

The journalist also posted another video of the same kind on his X account on January 10, showing a Chinese traffic police officer helped adjust a little girl's helmet carefully, in comparison with a black driver being hit on the ground by US policemen in Crawford County.

"In China, 99% of the police don't even carry guns, much less shoot civilians in their cars," he wrote, "Be like China."

The stark contrast between these two drastically different scenarios highlights the public's concerns about fairness and human touch in US law enforcement. The video has garnered more than 1.3 million views on X and triggered heated debate in the comment section. 

In the comment section, the opinions are diversified regarding the proper law enforcement practices.

While some users questioned the authenticity of the video, others voiced criticism of US policing practices. One netizen commented that "White supremacists can't imagine that other countries are not as shitty as theirs." Another wrote that "China is filled with better people, which is why it is ranked No.1 in almost all areas."

Following the ICE fatal shooting incident, similar videos of comparison between two countries' law enforcement were also posted on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, or RedNote. 

Netizens contrasted the two systems, some saying that "police in Europe and the US function primarily as instruments of force, rather than service providers, whereas Chinese police are first and foremost a service-oriented institution." Foreign netizen also joined the discussion. One netizen named Craig Louks wrote, "They will tell you this is an isolated incident, but there are an awful lot of these 'isolated incidents' happening again and again."

Some comments went beyond simple comparison of policing practices. 
A video showing a foreign netizen commented on the comparison on the Rednote that the US government puts more people in prison than China, 1.8 million prisoners, but has a much smaller population, only 340 million people. That is five times the incarceration rate.

"So let me put it in another way, you are five times more likely to be put in prision in the United States than in China," the netizen said.

The renewed debate over US law enforcement follows a recent fatal shooting involving ICE officers. On January 7, an ICE officer, Jonathan Ross, fatally shot Renee Good, a 37-year-old US citizen and mother of three, during a large-scale immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota.

In a separate incident late Wednesday in Minneapolis, another federal officer shot a person in the leg following what officials described as an altercation during an attempted arrest. According to the Associated Press, the shooting occurred about 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) north of the location where Good was killed earlier this month.

A series of violent law enforcement incidents has fueled public anger across the US. In comparison, the online comparison seems to be reminding Chinese netizens of Chinese law enforcement with warmth. 

A previously circulated video showing a touching moment involving a Chinese traffic police officer. In the footage, the officer stopped a motorist for illegally overtaking vehicles, but after learning that the driver was rushing to see his mother who had just passed away, the officer chose to let him go.

Many Chinese netizens said they were moved to tears after watching the video, commenting that "law enforcement with warmth always touches people's hearts." 

Another clip showing a Chinese police officer calmly de-escalating a traffic dispute previously also went viral on TikTok, drawing praise from netizens. "The police of a civilized country will only treat the people in a civilized way," one comment read. An influencer who once lived in the US remarked that "Chinese police law enforcement is almost too civilized, which is very different from the US."

Global Times