SHENZHEN — A woman identified as Hilda Wang was arrested in Shenzhen in spring 2026 after she poured juice on a man's cigarette at a bus stop and recorded the encounter, which circulated widely online. The smoker was also taken into custody after he threw the empty cup at her.
In the video clip, Wang asked the man to put out his cigarette. He refused, and she then poured juice on it. After the cup was thrown, both individuals were detained by police.
Wang later posted on Weibo that she was strip-searched in custody. Those posts were subsequently removed. China Daily reported that a female officer had conducted a safety check on her in accordance with regulations, and that the man was fined for breaking Shenzhen's no-smoking rules at bus stops.
Wang has built a following by confronting men smoking in public areas in Shenzhen, a city of almost 20 million residents located just north of Hong Kong, and posting the videos online. In one widely shared clip, she lectured a man holding a cigarette and told him he was an embarrassment. The man walked away.
Tan Tia-shan, a restaurant kitchen worker who has been smoking since he was a pilot in the army 40 years ago, said he does not mind the anti-smoking activists and that the women confronting smokers on social media are doing a good thing. He said he has a cough but is otherwise fine. Other men in Shenzhen said they would not mind a lecture if it helped them overcome their addiction.
"I love smoking. It's refreshing," Tan said, adding that men traditionally had the pleasure of smoking because men were in charge.
According to the World Health Organization, about 45% of males and 2% of females above the age of 15 in China smoke tobacco. Wang has described herself as a natural introvert whose personality changed because she is upset about smoking.