The Nanjing subway has announced plans to upgrade its security check starting next month, but a rule that allegedly proposes a less stringent check of luxury handbags has sparked widespread debate.

On Aug. 28, a report circulating online stated that Nanjing will start requiring all subway passengers to have their bags scanned by an X-ray machine before entering the platform, starting in September. However, the report mentioned, "passengers with luxury bags can skip the machine and instead opt to have subway security officers open and examine their bags in order to pass the check.”

This exception rubbed many netizens the wrong way, and the news quickly became a commonly searched topic on Weibo, with Internet users criticizing the subway for preferential treatment.

“The purpose of undergoing a security check is to ensure safety - does that mean rich people wouldn't carry dangerous or banned stuff onto the subway, but only the ordinary and the poor?” said Weibo user Chenglixi_o.

“My bag is plain but is meaningful to me. Can I skip the machine, which rubs my bag, too? ” said Weibo user Sunzzyyy.

As the debate rolled on, a manager for the Nanjing subway posted a response on the company's official Weibo account: “All bags will be required to go through the machine, no matter if they are made of cloth or leather, with just a few exceptions. If any passenger is afraid the machine will make their bag dirty or damage it in some other way, they can just ask subway staffers to check it manually.“

On Monday morning, there was another official post reaffirming that all bags are subject to security checks, and that there won’t be any special treatment for designer bags.