A video posted online of a Chinese boy being forced to do push ups in the snow while wearing only underwear is at the center of controversy.
The video was shot in New York on Chinese New Year’s Eve by the 4-year-old boy’s father while the family was on vacation, according to the Daily Mail.
The footage shows the man forcing his son, identified as Ho Yide, to run through snow-covered streets and even do push ups in the frigid air. The boy is seen crying and pleads with his father in Chinese, “Please give me a hug,” the Daily Mail reports.
The video has been viewed by nearly 100,000 people and is garnering hundreds of comments.
“This is child abuse. Snatch that baby from the parents and put the father and mother behind bars,” one user said.
Another user commented, “Very good, I hope one day I will train my child like that!! This is normal in China.”
The father’s personal assistant told media that the boy was born prematurely with health problems and this rigorous exercise is part of a strict training regime his father has employed since the boy was born.
“The child agreed and before the run, he did half an hour of slow running to warm up,” Ms. Xin, the assistant, said. “This child has received all sorts of forms of training since he was small. When he was one, he started swimming in water that was 21 degrees Celsius.”
“He says he doesn’t care what others say… that the fact that the child lived showed that he has tenacious vitality,” she added about the father’s reaction to the video’s backlash.
