Chinese netizens and bloggers have responded to two recent fatal stabbings—one at home and one abroad—with shock, online detective work, and comparisons to two other previous stabbings that targeted Japanese residents in Shenzhen and Suzhou. The first recent attack occurred at a Shanghai Walmart on the evening of Monday, September 30, when a 37-year-old man surnamed Lin stabbed 18 people, leaving three dead and 15 injured. The attack occurred on the eve of China’s October 1 National Day, which this year marked the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Some discussions of the stabbing on social media have reportedly been censored, as have some essays and articles on the subject. The initial statement from police, who apprehended Lin at the scene, identified him by age and surname, and noted that his motive was a “personal financial dispute.”
The second stabbing took place on October 1 near a daycare center in Zurich, Switzerland, where a 23-year-old Chinese man attacked a group of children, severely injuring a five-year-old boy and wounding two other boys. (All three have received medical treatment and are in stable condition.) The man, a master’s student at the University of Zurich, was reportedly overpowered by a daycare worker and restrained by the worker and another bystander until police arrived to arrest him. Although Swiss authorities have yet to identify a motive for the attack, Chinese netizens have been avidly searching online and translating overseas content to learn more about the attack and the perpetrator.
One other crime that has attracted considerable attention on the Chinese Internet is the case of a 33-year-old Chinese national who threw hot coffee on an infant in a park in Brisbane, Australia, on Aug 27. The child, who was picnicking with his mother in the park, was badly burned and left with life-changing injuries. The attacker fled Australia on Aug 31, twelve hours before police in Queensland were able to identify him, although they have issued an international warrant for his arrest. Chinese media have since publicly identified the man, who reportedly has mental health issues, and have speculated that his motive—for the infant’s mother was a complete stranger to him—may have been revenge after his recent visa application was rejected.
As for the Shanghai Walmart stabbing, it continues to attract intense attention and commentary online; CDT Chinese editors have thus far archived six articles and essays on the topic. Some writers highlighted the timely and informative public notice from Shanghai police, which included the suspect’s age, surname, and apparent motive. This was in marked contrast to vague or belated police statements about three other past knife attacks—in Shenzhen, Suzhou, and Jilin, respectively—that targeted foreigners and seemed motivated by xenophobia. In a WeChat article about “lessons to be learned” from the Shanghai attack, blogger Song Qingren wrote that the relatively forthcoming statement from the Shanghai police was an unaccustomed bit of “normalcy” for residents hoping to learn the unvarnished truth about issues of crime and public safety in their communities. A now-censored WeChat article from popular science and current events blogger Xiang Dongliang explores the Shanghai attack from a number of angles, including the public’s right to be informed:
The incident occurred at around 9:00 in the evening. By around 1:00 in the morning, police in Songjiang [a district of Shanghai] had already preliminarily identified the murderer and his motive for the crime, and drafted a clear and factual report to allay public concerns.
Timely public reporting is very important. The public is deeply concerned about what weapons the suspect may possess, whether he has been caught, whether he has accomplices, and other such information. Only timely reporting can reassure the public.
The motive for crimes is even more important. Whether a killing is due to personal enmity or ethnic hatred, whether an attack is targeted or indiscriminate—these facts are vital to helping us assess the safety of our surroundings.
Disclosing the motive for an attack as “revenge on society” may indeed cause some people to worry, but that is far preferable to undisclosed or murky motives that fill us with the terror of unknown dangers. [Chinese]
A number of writers also noted that the “personal financial dispute” that drove the Shanghai attacker to lash out was apparently a dispute over a large sum of unpaid wages. WeChat account Hereditary Researcher wrote that two of the phrases that appeared in the police notice—“financial dispute” and “came to Shanghai to vent his anger”—hint at the underlying economic injustice that drives some to desperation, despair, or violence. An article from WeChat account Chanting a Spell Will Make It Rain mentions a document leaked online, ostensibly a copy of a police report describing how “the suspect Lin went to Shanghai to collect his back wages, but after he was unable to find the boss who owed him money, he became despondent and decided to take revenge on society.” The author also reasons that “the Shanghai police likely used the term ‘personal economic dispute’ to downplay the social contradictions at the heart of the incident, and to avoid triggering a broader discussion” of issues such as socio-economic inequality, wage theft, and unpaid wages.
A WeChat article from former journalist and current affairs blogger Zhang Feng asks how we, as ordinary citizens, should cope with an era in which more and more disgruntled individuals seem to be using violence to vent their rage:
I read a rumor that the murderer used to work in another city, and that his boss owed him 30,000 or 40,000 yuan in back salary. After learning that his boss had moved to Shanghai, he went there to collect the debt, but he was unable to meet with his boss, ran out of money, and even had to sell his cell phone.
If this is true, there is a sort of logic to “venting his anger.” He was desperate, trapped in a hopeless situation he could neither comprehend nor cope with, and he chose to lash out and hurt innocent people.
I am in no way defending his actions. He should certainly be punished, and he is 100% deserving of the death penalty. But it is still meaningful to try to understand how this could have happened.
If our society had relief organizations that could help people in crisis, offer assistance when they are in trouble, might that reduce the likelihood of similar tragedies occurring?
[…] I can’t think of any way to solve the problem besides trying to understand the trials and tribulations of others, and listening more closely to their cries. I know that hatred alone won’t solve the problem. There is far too much hatred in this world already. [Chinese]
