Recently, a video circulating online showed a young boy resembling a “wild child” at the Sichuan Asbestos Service Area on the Yaxi Highway. The boy was barely clothed and crawling on the ground using his limbs. Concerns arose among netizens that the child may be a victim of abuse or even human trafficking. However, instead of taking action, the authorities chose to suppress the news. A blogger who visited the child’s residence was intercepted, leading to suspicions reminiscent of a similar incident in Feng County three years ago.
The viral video depicted a young boy around three or four years old, looking frail with dark skin and disheveled long hair. In contrast, his parents were neatly dressed, sitting on a stone platform next to steps, holding a few months old baby, who was appropriately clothed. Another video showed the boy nibbling on food while crawling and running on all fours on the steps.
According to netizens, the child’s behavior of eating and crawling was reminiscent of a “wild child.”
Netizens questioned whether the boy had been trafficked and urged the authorities to rescue him, suggesting DNA testing to determine his parentage.
Reported by China News Weekly on October 18, the family involved consisted of four members from Xinzhen Village, Wuzhengxiang Town, Nanjian County, Dali Prefecture, Yunnan Province. The family was passing through the aforementioned toll station in their car.
A villager from Xinzhen Village, known as Yang Mei, stated that the child’s father never let the child wear clothes year-round, despite reports to the police from villagers. The last time she saw the child was one winter morning last year when it was sunny after snowfall, and the father took the child and a dog to the road near the village center for sun exposure. While the father wore a long coral fleece nightgown, the child was naked.
She recalled the child crawling on the ground like in the viral video, sticking out his tongue like a dog and making strange noises.
According to local government officials, the father of the child is in his 30s, originally from Nanjian County. The mother is around 40 years old, hailing from Beijing. Both parents are well-educated, with the father holding a university degree and the mother a postgraduate degree.
“The second child was not born in a hospital but at home,” stated the official adding that the elder child was brought from somewhere else, making it difficult to determine their precise ages. The Nanjian County Propaganda Department responded that the parents were not guilty of child abuse, as per the local government’s investigation.
The official mentioned that the child could communicate with people but disliked interacting with them.
Regarding the decision not to clothe the child, a staff member from the Nanjian County Women’s Federation attributed it to the child’s eczema condition, stating that when the parents dressed him, he sometimes removed the clothes himself.
The child’s father defended their approach as “natural education,” claiming it as their lifestyle and asserting that others had no right to interfere before ending the call and shutting off the phone.
On the same day, Nanjian County issued a statement that the public security authorities had intervened in compliance with the law and initial inquiries found no evidence of human trafficking.
However, both children remain unregistered residents, raising suspicions. The parents explained that they had yet to resolve whether to register in Beijing or Yunnan, still under consideration.
The official response sparked public skepticism online. Many netizens expressed outrage at the local police for initially terming the situation as “normal,” demanding accountability. One user remarked, “The parents claim to embrace nature but fail to do so themselves, choosing to expose the ignorant children. It’s quite sinister.” The reference to “Iron Chain Woman” was also recalled.
The incident gained traction on various mainland social media platforms like Weibo, Xiaohongshu, and Douyin, with the “wild child” becoming a trending topic.
Under mounting public pressure, on October 18, an official from the Nanjian County Public Security Bureau stated that they had contacted the boy’s grandmother to help him register in Beijing. The parents agreed to clothe the child. Nevertheless, on October 19, a netizen captured the boy still naked on the floor, eating food at the Chongzhou Service Area in Sichuan.
On October 21, a blogger indicated attempting to visit Nanjian County in Yunnan and was blocked 2 kilometers away by a checkpoint, where they were denied entry and told only local residents could pass.
Moreover, information related to the event on major Chinese platforms had started to be censored.
On October 22, a Weibo user following the case mentioned that all posts regarding the “wild child” had been wiped out, receiving multiple notifications of posts made visible only to themselves. The user further expressed, “Back in the Iron Chain incident, posts weren’t taken down this quickly.”
Other netizens also commented on the suppression of information, stating, “Yes, all posts are heavily restricted.” “Posts are constantly being deleted; I feel so helpless about this world. Let’s collapse together.” “I messaged Nanjian Media (Nanjian Government Official Account) to inquire and criticize their perfunctory behavior, and received a ban on messaging as a ‘reward.'”
Netizens articulated, “It’s the same script, the same taste. It reminds me of Feng County three years ago.” “Iron Chain Woman.” “Adding insult to injury.” “Deleting posts means there’s definitely a problem. Let’s stay calm and save this poor child.”