EVENTS

Yinao – healthcare disturbance or "medical ruckus," refers to violent incidents directed against healthcare practitioners – especially large hospital's doctors and nursing staff – and facilities for financial benefit in China. Yinao social phenomenon has been widespread and increasing, and is a typical product of commercialization of healthcare since the implementation of economic reform policy in 1979-80. China's national CCTV reported that in 2010 alone there were 17,243 medical disputes, an increase of almost 7000 cases from 2005, while major disturbances involving physical aggression doubled from 9831 in 2006 to 17,243 in 2010. Since 2012, on average over 12,000 health professionals have been attacked every year, and over 25% of China's nursing staff has been reporting having experienced Yinao per year. Yinao, sannong wenti, liudong renkou etc. are some of the social ills – typically an outcome of several decades of China's reform policy – which in spite of mass protests and public anger continue to be ignored by the authorities. Politically speaking, though the frustration and helplessness of thousands and millions of suffering Chinese people do not get manifested for the absence of "colour revolution," "occupy street," "pink protest" movements, it is nonetheless true that widespread resentment which keeps surfacing on social media and in the form of "silent support" – as witnessed in the case of shockingly high rate of public approval of Yinao phenomenon, particularly under authoritarian rule, speaks volumes about ill-governance and anti-people nature of the current party regime in China. No wonder, the Yinao phenomenon has been described by Chinese scholars as the "weapon of the weak."