Behind the “Badge-Showing” Incident Lies the Institutional Arrogance of Public Power
By Feng Reng
作者：冯仍
编辑：周志刚 责任编辑：罗志飞 翻译：鲁慧文
2025年7月22日下午，广西防城港市港口区企沙镇兴港村，一条乡村小路上，两辆SUV车辆因道路狭窄发生会车纠纷。车主李先生驾驶白色哈弗SUV与另一辆黑色奔驰SUV相遇，对方拒绝倒车，并下车亮出一本行政执法证件，声称 “我是执法人员” ，要求李先生让路。
整个过程被手机拍下后传至网络，引发巨大争议。视频中，该女子态度强硬，不断强调自己有“证”，甚至在事后上门要求删帖，自称“认识公安”，令舆论哗然。
8月3日凌晨，防城港市港口区发布调查通报称，该女子侯某某为某民营企业员工，并非执法人员，其出示的行政执法证属于其丈夫李某某，为港口区综合行政执法局正式职工。该证件系李某某长期放置于自家车辆中，侯某某系在车上发现后 “出于一时冲动” 拿出使用。
官方通报还称，事件中的双方为表亲，住址相距800米左右，并强调该事件系一起“误会引发的纠纷”，未构成违法犯罪行为。但这一说法并未平息舆论，反而因其避重就轻、模糊焦点，引发更大质疑。
我看完视频的全过程，再看官方的通报，一个感觉：不是荒唐，而是熟悉。
因为太像了，像极了我们在中国生活时常常遇到的那种“我是某某领导的家属”“你认得我吗”“我爸是李刚”的场景；像极了那种靠关系、靠身份就可以在乡里街头横着走的“家属文化”；更像一个体制性病灶——公权力私用、权力不受监督的恶果。
这名女子，不是执法人员，却可以拿着丈夫的执法证，在公路上对陌生人“亮证”施压，威胁倒车。事后还能大摇大摆地上门要求删帖，自称“认识公安”，她仗的是谁的权？
我们这些普通人，不怕真的法律，怕的是假公职、真特权；不怕制度，怕的是体制已经默许这种“家属借权”“亮证压人”成为常态。
我在国内的时候，也遇到过类似的事。开车在路上被一个“某某局家属”拦下，只因我不让他先过。他一句“我是谁谁谁”，我就得陪笑脸、低头，不然就是“给你点颜色看看”。那时候我就在想，这样的国家，还有希望吗？
今天我人虽然在美国，但看到广西这起事件，我心里依然堵得慌。因为我知道，那不是一个人的傲慢，而是无数中国体制内权力滥用的缩影。那种“只要我有关系、有证、有靠山，就能随便欺负人”的现象，在中国已经成了毒瘤。而当权者却还在说：“大家是亲戚，是误会。”
可是老百姓早就看明白了：我们要的不是一句“误会”就能交代过去，也不是靠“表亲”就能糊弄了事，而是真正的调查、问责和制度约束。
如果连一张执法证都能变成家属手里的“吓人神器”，那说明真正需要被亮出来、被审视的，不是那位女子的身份，而是整个体制的傲慢与腐败。
Behind the “Badge-Showing” Incident Lies the Institutional Arrogance of Public Power
By Feng Reng
Editor: Zhou Zhigang | Chief Editor: Luo Zhifei | Translated by: Huiwen Lu
Summary:
On the afternoon of July 22, 2025, in Xinggang Village, Qisha Town, Gangkou District, Fangchenggang City, Guangxi, China, a dispute broke out between Mr. Li and a woman surnamed Hou when their vehicles met on a narrow rural road. Ms. Hou claimed to be a law enforcement officer and demanded that Mr. Li reverse his car to give way. The entire altercation was recorded on video and later posted online, sparking nationwide controversy.
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On July 22, 2025, in Xinggang Village, Qisha Town, Gangkou District of Fangchenggang City, Guangxi Province, two SUVs encountered each other on a narrow country road and got into a standoff. Mr. Li, driving a white Haval SUV, came face-to-face with a black Mercedes SUV. The woman driving the Mercedes refused to reverse and got out, flashing an administrative law enforcement badge and declaring, “I’m a law enforcement officer,” demanding Mr. Li give way.
The entire scene was recorded on a mobile phone and uploaded to the internet, triggering widespread public outrage. In the video, the woman behaves aggressively, repeatedly emphasizing that she “has a badge.” She even went as far as visiting the other party’s home afterward to demand the video be deleted, claiming she “knows the police,” further inflaming public opinion.
In the early hours of August 3, the Gangkou District of Fangchenggang City released an official statement, identifying the woman, Ms. Hou, as an employee of a private company—not a law enforcement officer. The badge she displayed belonged to her husband, Mr. Li, who is a formal employee of the Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau in Gangkou District. The badge, according to the statement, had been kept in their personal vehicle, and Ms. Hou allegedly used it “on a whim” upon discovering it there.
The statement also claimed that the two parties involved are relatives, living just 800 meters apart, and described the incident as a “misunderstanding” that did not constitute any criminal offense. However, this explanation failed to quell public anger. Instead, it provoked greater skepticism due to its evasiveness and deflection of key issues.
After watching the video and then reading the official statement, my overriding feeling was not disbelief—but familiarity.
Because it felt all too familiar. It’s exactly like what we experienced in everyday life in China:
“I’m so-and-so’s relative,” “Do you know who I am?” “My dad is Li Gang.”
It’s the everyday absurdity of a society where family connections and privileged status allow people to behave with impunity in the streets and alleys.
It is a reflection of a deeper systemic illness—the abuse of public power, the privatization of authority, and the complete absence of oversight.
This woman was not a law enforcement officer, yet she wielded her husband’s badge to exert pressure on a stranger in a traffic dispute. Later, she brazenly demanded the deletion of the video, claiming ties to the police. What kind of power was she relying on?
Ordinary people like us don’t fear the law—we fear fake officials with real privilege.
We don’t fear rules—we fear a system that condones this culture of family-backed impunity, where flashing a badge becomes a normalized form of intimidation.
I experienced something similar when I was still in China. I was once stopped on the road by a “relative of some bureau chief” simply because I didn’t let him pass first. With one sentence—“Do you know who I am?”—I had to smile apologetically and bow my head, or face retaliation. I remember thinking then: Can a country like this still have hope?
Now that I live in the United States, I still feel suffocated watching the events in Guangxi unfold. Because I know this isn’t just one person’s arrogance—it’s a microcosm of the rampant abuse of power in China’s political system. This phenomenon of “if I have connections, a badge, or a backer, I can bully others at will” has become a cancer in Chinese society. And the authorities’ response? “They’re relatives, it was just a misunderstanding.”
But the public is no longer so easily fooled.
We don’t want a vague “misunderstanding” to brush the issue aside.
We don’t want to be pacified with the word “relatives.”
What we want is a real investigation, real accountability, and real institutional checks and balances.
If a simple law enforcement badge can be turned into a family member’s tool of intimidation, then what truly needs to be brought into the spotlight and scrutinized is not just the woman’s identity—
but the arrogance and corruption of the entire system.
