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Several individuals have been administratively punished for cyberbullying a village Party secretary in Central China's Hunan Province after spreading rumors about her wearing "gold earrings" while engaged in flood relief work, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday, citing China's Ministry of Public Security.

According to the report, Shimen County in Hunan Province was recently hit by heavy rainfall. A village cadre remained on the front line of flood control and disaster relief for several consecutive days, going door to door to alert residents, organizing evacuations, arranging temporary shelter, and delivering supplies. Her dedication moved many netizens.

However, while society was rallying to support disaster-relief efforts, a small number of netizens made groundless accusations against her because of the accessories she wore during an interview. They speculated that "the earrings weigh two liang (about 100 grams)," and posted belittling and mocking comments such as "ordinary rural women can't afford gold earrings" and "it would be more touching if she donated the earrings." Their actions interfered with flood relief efforts and created a highly negative impact, according to the Xinhua report.

Public security and cyber security authorities moved swiftly to investigate the case and handled 15 incidents of cyberbullying in accordance with the law. A 44-year-old man surnamed Qin, and a 45-year-old man surnamed Wei, among others, were given administrative penalties in accordance with the law, per Xinhua.

The cyber security department of the public security authorities said it will continue its "Clean Internet" campaign, focusing on tackling prominent online problems such as cyberbullying, online trolls, and online rumors, while cracking down on related illegal and criminal activities to safeguard the lawful rights and interests of the public and maintain order in cyberspace.

Global Times