Chinese social media are in a frenzy as they found out that David Dao is a Vietnamese national. Dao is the passenger from the United Airlines (UA) flight who was dragged down the plane's aisle by the flight crew.
Dao is a doctor who was flying from Chicago to Louisville when UA crew forcibly removed him from his seat. The act was caught on video and went viral on social media.
The doctor suffered a concussion, a broken nose, and two missing teeth. Flight officers accidentally slammed his head against an armrest while removing him from the plane.
In one of the worst PR catastrophes in history, United Airlines is battling with waves of criticism from all over the world. The criticism was strongest from China because many speculated that Dao was Chinese.
Judy Chu told Chinese state media, "No person should be treated in this manner, and it is especially notable that this person was Chinese-American."
Much support came from the Chinese community and included a signature campaign and a famous hashtag, #ChineseLivesMatters. The campaign produced 200,000 signatures.
Upon learning that Dao was not Chinese, many reacted on social media and some Weibo users claimed that Dao is not part of the Chinese community.
A Weibo user posted, "David Dao is not Chinese. He's not one of us."
Other users responded to the post and wrote, "Does it really matter if David Dao is Chinese? Would it take away the damage that has been done?"
The airline is trying to appease the public by an apology and changing booking policies. Crew members are now required by United to book 60 minutes before the flight.
Consumers and critics are not pleased with the changes and are calling for the resignation of the airline's CEO, Oscar Munoz.
In light of this overbooking issue, Delta Airlines declared that they will compensate overbooked passengers with $10,000.