China’s Handling of Sensitive Incidents: A Pattern of Control

Access gates to the Zhuhai sports complex in China were shut. The stadium interior and its surrounding areas remained unlit. This location had, hours earlier, been the scene where a man fatally drove an SUV into a gathering, resulting in dozens of deaths and numerous injuries. Upon the BBC’s arrival, only security personnel were visible moving behind the perimeter fence, having received instructions to monitor for journalists. One guard approached, inquiring: “Are you journalists?” When questioned about his reason for asking, he responded: “Oh just to understand the situation.” He and another guard then photographed the reporters and initiated phone calls, observing them throughout. Outside the complex’s entrance, individuals walked past, seeking a view of the aftermath. However, a group of approximately a dozen people showed greater interest in the reporters. A woman began to alert others, exclaiming: “Look, foreigners, foreigners.” Shortly thereafter, a man accompanying her forcefully disrupted the reporting, physically grabbing the reporter and shouting. Frequently, in China, when sensitive incidents of this nature occur, local Communist Party officials arrange for groups of cadres to pose as indignant local residents. These individuals are tasked with confronting foreign reporters and hindering any media coverage. This tactic consistently fails to suppress the news and instead tends to damage China’s international image. Following the death of former Premier Li Keqiang last year, gatherings of these loyalists were dispatched to the street fronting his former family residence. Any journalist who appeared there faced encirclement, shouting, pushing, and abuse. Premier Li’s passing was considered sensitive by the party, not solely due to its abrupt and unforeseen nature, but also because he represented the final figure of the former liberal faction. His death indicated that the party’s ranks were now entirely filled with supporters of President Xi Jinping. Nevertheless, similar occurrences unfold even for significantly less severe incidents. Last month, a visit was made to a shopping mall in Shanghai where a man had indiscriminately stabbed multiple strangers fatally. The entire site had been cleared of all evidence within hours of this dreadful incident. By the subsequent morning, the mall had resumed normal operations, devoid of police crime scene tape or floral tributes for the deceased. To some extent, this approach is comprehensible, as many of these inexplicable community assaults are imitative. Tuesday’s attack, while startling due to its fatality count, is not an isolated event. However, authorities in this region occasionally desire for such negative events to simply vanish as swiftly as possible. Several hours following the confrontation outside the Zhuhai attack location, numerous police vehicles had arrived to enhance management of the circumstances. A gathering of local residents had also assembled to light candles in remembrance of the deceased, and footage circulated on social media depicted queues of volunteers at hospitals prepared to donate blood. President Xi has urged officials to address societal issues to preclude the recurrence of such events in the future. Yet, once more, China grapples with the question of what compels individuals to commit such unimaginable acts of horror. Discovering the explanations for this remains exceedingly challenging. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding our policy on external linking is available.