Thursday, November 14, 2024

‘Taking revenge on society’: Deadly Zhuhai car attack sparks questions in China

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Many posts, comments and articles about the Zhuhai incident have been censored in recent days, as officials limit discussion of what appears to have been deemed as a politically sensitive topic. In China, it is common for censors to quickly take down social media posts linked to high-profile incidents of crime.

Despite this, several emotional accounts raising questions about the incident have continued circulating widely online. The BBC has not been able to independently verify these accounts.

One person said a family friend was killed in the attack when she was doing her evening workout with a walking group.

“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 person wrote.

The person accused online Chinese media of “barely reporting” on the incident while giving more coverage to a high-profile military airshow taking place in Zhuhai at the same time. “In the eyes of those in power, aeroplanes are more important than human lives.”

Another widely-circulated post was written by a person who said their mother was badly injured in the attack and was currently warded in a hospital’s intensive care unit.

The person said it was unclear if their mother would survive and that their father, who witnessed the attack, was devastated. “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.”

They also criticised the lack of information in the hours following the incident.

“Up to ten hours after it happened, there were no statistics on the casualties, no statements from the police,” said one of them.

Additional reporting by Fan Wang.

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