Fatal Vehicle Attack in China Prompts Societal Questions Amidst Censorship

An incident involving a vehicle attack in China, which resulted in 35 fatalities, has generated inquiries concerning a recent surge in public violence, while authorities persist in restricting discourse surrounding the event. Numerous social media users are engaging in discussions regarding the societal phenomenon of “taking revenge on society,” which describes individuals targeting strangers due to personal grievances. According to police, the driver responsible for crashing into crowds at a stadium in the southern city of Zhuhai on Monday night was motivated by dissatisfaction with a divorce settlement. Although this incident is considered China’s most lethal known act of violence in several decades, it occurs after a series of assaults in recent months, such as a mass stabbing at a supermarket in Shanghai and a knife assault at a school in Beijing. In response to a nationwide outcry concerning the Zhuhai incident, President Xi Jinping has pledged “severe punishment” for the individual responsible. Police reported that the 62-year-old driver, who is currently under arrest, is in a coma as a result of self-inflicted injuries. On various Chinese social media platforms, numerous individuals conveyed their astonishment at the driver’s conduct and questioned whether it indicated more profound societal issues. A comment that gained widespread attention on Weibo stated: “How can you take revenge on society because your family life is not going well? You’ve taken the lives of so many innocent people, will you ever have peace of mind.” A user on WeChat remarked, “If there is a widespread lack of job security and huge pressure to survive… then society is bound to be full of problems, hostility and terror.” Additionally, another individual authored a widely disseminated post asserting: “We should be examining the deep-rooted, social [factors] that have fostered so many indiscriminate [attacks on] the weak.” Several violent incidents have been documented in China this year, including a mass stabbing and firearms assault in Shandong during February, which claimed the lives of at least 21 individuals. In October, a knife attack at a prominent school in Beijing resulted in five injuries, and in September, a man carried out a stabbing spree at a Shanghai supermarket, leading to three deaths and multiple injuries. Numerous posts, comments, and articles pertaining to the Zhuhai incident have undergone censorship in recent days, as authorities restrict discourse on what seems to have been classified as a politically sensitive subject. In China, it is a routine practice for censors to promptly remove social media content associated with prominent criminal events. Nevertheless, a number of emotional narratives questioning the incident have persisted in widespread online circulation. The BBC has been unable to independently corroborate these accounts. An individual reported that a family friend died in the attack while participating in her evening workout with a walking group. The person wrote, “My mother is finding it hard to accept the loss of such a close friend. The more I witness her grief, the more I resent the cold-bloodedness of the murderer.” The same individual also alleged that Chinese media were “barely reporting” on the event, instead dedicating more coverage to a prominent military airshow concurrently held in Zhuhai. They added, “In the eyes of those in power, aeroplanes are more important than human lives.” Multiple Chinese media organizations informed BBC Chinese that, during the initial hours following the incident, they had been issued explicit directives to refrain from reporting on it. Subsequently, news outlets have published reports concerning the attack, primarily focusing on statements provided by the police and Xi Jinping. However, the state broadcaster CCTV omitted any mention of the attack in its primary midday news bulletin on Wednesday, choosing instead to highlight President Xi’s forthcoming journey to South America and the airshow in Zhuhai. Furthermore, the front pages of China’s daily newspapers also lacked any coverage of what stands as the most lethal act of public mass violence in years. An additional post, which gained significant online circulation, was authored by an individual who stated their mother sustained severe injuries in the attack and is presently undergoing treatment in a hospital’s intensive care unit. The person indicated uncertainty regarding their mother’s survival and reported that their father, who observed the attack, was profoundly distressed. “His heart is broken, but he is still trying his best to respond calmly to phone calls and all the people who care about my mum.” This individual also expressed criticism regarding the scarcity of information in the hours immediately after the incident, stating: “Up to 10 hours after it happened, there were no statistics on the casualties, no statements from the police.” Other users have noted that it took 24 hours for authorities to disclose the complete death toll of 35 individuals. The Weibo social media platform has also removed a hashtag that referenced the death toll. Additional reporting was provided by Fan Wang. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding our approach to external linking is available.