A Divided Court of Public Opinion
While the Quick Sound platform was engulfed in controversy over the "Patient" Feng Jianguo incident, with supporters and opponents fiercely divided, a completely different, even highly unified, public opinion landscape emerged on Little Red Sweet Potato, a social platform primarily used by young female users.
If the comment section of Quick Sound (a Chinese short video platform) is a battlefield filled with the smoke of battle and clashing opinions, then the related topics on Little Red Sweet Potato platform) are more like a carefully orchestrated, highly synchronized collective mourning and accusation rally.
The notes pushed to the homepage mostly have titles that carry a tone of sorrow and questioning:
Girls, who is ultimately responsible for our safety? The necessity of building all-female cities as seen in the Sun Tingting incident.
A Bleeding Lesson: When the Law Fails to Protect Us, What Can We Still Trust?
My heart aches for Tingting and Officer Zhang; they just made a mistake that all girls make.
Why is the cost of "misunderstanding" so heavy? An analysis of systemic violence against women.
Clicking into these notes, the content often revolves around several core arguments: expressing great sympathy for the victims Sun Tingting and Zhang Qian, downplaying Sun Tingting's false accusation as a "minor misunderstanding" or "an understandable overreaction"; remaining relatively silent or glossing over the experiences of counselor Li Jing and presiding judge He; and expressing strong condemnation of "Patient" Feng Jianguo, calling for the most severe punishment for him.
Here, Feng Jianguo is no longer the "hero" Quick Sound by some on Kuaiyin, but a heinous, cruel, and despicable "perverted killer" and "misogynist." Procedural justice is temporarily set aside, and what permeates the text is a strong sense of empathy and indignation based on gender perspectives.
Soon, this highly homogenized voice began to be selectively extracted and often reposted on Quick Sound by some accounts that were keen on "copying" popular content across platforms, often with some kind of sensational or provocative purpose.
One particular post, a graphic and text-based note originating from Little Red Sweet Potato), quickly ignited the emotions of Quick Sound) users with its striking viewpoint and visual presentation, becoming the focus of a new wave of public opinion.
The poster of this post used a heavily edited profile picture of a woman's face with a soft-focus filter. The caption read:
"What did Sun Tingting do wrong? She just accidentally misunderstood the other person, why is she being treated like this?" The opening sentence sets the tone.
"It's normal to misunderstand when you encounter a man with that kind of 'lower body,' right? Haven't you ever seen that kind of male gaze in your lives?"
"Officer Zhang did absolutely nothing wrong. She was simply protecting the vulnerable on instinct. Is that wrong?"
"This society is so unfair to us women; it's a mistake for us to even unite a little."
"Is it possible that Lin Feng made absolutely no mistakes, even if we disregard the facts?"
"I strongly suggest investigating whether Lin Feng has any connection to the murderer. It's chilling to think about!"
"Furthermore, murderers like this should be executed! Immediately! Right now!"
This text was already eye-catching enough, but what shocked Quick Sound users even more was the accompanying picture.
In the picture, a young woman (who appears to be the blogger herself) wearing a pure white dress sits on the ground with a deliberately posed expression that blends sadness and determination.
Before her was a perfect heart shape carefully arranged with dozens of white candles.
The flickering candlelight illuminated her face, which was clearly heavily made up. Even the angle of the lighting and the traces of post-production retouching were clearly visible—her skin was smoothed to perfection, the light in her eyes was deliberately enhanced, and the background was blurred. The whole scene was filled with a kind of "refinement" and "ritual" that was extremely incongruous with the atmosphere of grief and indignation described in the text.
After this post was shared on Quick Sound a Chinese short video platform), the users who were arguing heatedly about whether Feng Jianguo was a "knight-errant" or a "Quick Sound" seemed to be put on pause. Then, an unprecedented, unified, and overwhelming wave of ridicule erupted.
The comment section was visibly flooded with all sorts of scathing, sarcastic, and creative rants:
"Good heavens! This smell is so strong, I can almost smell it through the screen! This person is definitely a familiar face on Little Red Sweet Potato). They must be a director-level expert on Little Red Sweet Potato, right?" This comment instantly became the number one most liked comment.
"Hahaha, I can't stop laughing, folks! Look at that photo, she not only had full makeup on, but she also used professional soft lighting! Even the white candles for mourning were arranged in a heart shape! I bet she was thinking, 'Hmm, this composition is great, it'll turn out great, I have some material for tonight!'" This comment, accompanied by a laughing-crying emoji, resonated with many.
"This photoshoot is way too obviously staged! They're talking about the power of the girls, but if the girls die, they're just trying to ride the coattails. All talk and no action, all they care about is business."
"You're spouting rhymes all the time, are you preparing for graduate school?!"
"I'm just wondering, is she advertising? Nationwide direct flights, 'widow' uniform temptation?" This highly sarcastic comment sparked another round of laughter.
Of course, many netizens also felt extremely uncomfortable and angry:
"Holy crap! Isn't anyone going to do anything about this outrageous statement?! 'Ignoring the facts' is even coming up?! And they're investigating Lin Feng? What's wrong with their brains?!" This comment was followed by a series of tags from the official cyber police account.
"Please, can we build a firewall between Quick Sound and Little Red Sweet Potato? Please stop spreading this kind of brainless talk and polluting the environment."
"Does she misunderstand the word 'misunderstanding'? Sun Tingting deliberately framed someone to send them to jail! How can this be called 'accidental'? Zhang Qian abused her power and made a wrongful judgment! How can this be called 'protecting the weak'? Her ability to distort the truth is truly astounding!"
"See? This is a classic case of 'I'm weak, therefore I'm right.' As long as they use the banner of 'women's vulnerability,' any lie or evil deed can be rationalized or even glorified. It's disgusting."
This post from Little Red Sweet Potato) was like a drop of cold water into a pot of boiling oil. Instead of Quick Sound) about the Feng Jianguo incident, it exposed the deep divisions in online public opinion based on gender, stance, and cognition to everyone in an extreme way.
Quick Sound users, whether they previously sided with the "hero" or denounced the "madman," seemed to have found a common "target" at this moment. They temporarily set aside their internal conflicts and poured all their ridicule, criticism, and anger onto this extreme statement that they regarded as "hypocritical," "pretentious," and "illogical."
The absurdity and division of the online world are particularly glaring at this moment. And the storm that Feng Jianguo personally stirred up has already exceeded the case itself, stirring up unpredictable reactions and ripples at a deeper and broader level of society.