Vientiane hotel halts ring-toss game amid digital outcry

Image from Joseph Akaravong’s Facebook.
(The women’s faces were blurred by RFA to protect their privacy.)

A Chinese-owned hotel in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, was forced to terminate its ring-toss game, in which Chinese men took turns tossing hoops at young Lao women to win wine and beer, according to Radio Free Asia.

The decision was made after a short video of the game went viral and received angry comments criticizing the treatment of women in such a manner.

RFA reported that the video showed a dozen young Lao women standing still on steps outside the building as a group of Chinese men took turns throwing hoops at them, hoping to ring their bodies for cans and bottles of beer, wine, or spirits they held.

The video was posted on February 15 on the Facebook page of Joseph Akaravong. He questioned why Lao officials allowed the hotel to use women as part of a game, asking,…