Recently, there have been multiple indiscriminate killings targeting the public in mainland China, with at least 43 people dead. The frequent occurrence of such violent events indicates a shift in public sentiment amidst the impending doom of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Experts suggest that the CCP has almost no solution to this issue, and similar tragic events may continue to unfold.
In November of this year, within less than ten days, three large-scale casualty incidents have already occurred. On November 11th, a 62-year-old suspect named Fan drove an off-road vehicle into a crowd at the Zhuhai Sports Center, resulting in 35 deaths and dozens of injuries. On November 16th, a campus indiscriminate stabbing incident took place in Yixing City, Jiangsu Province, with official reports of 8 deaths and 17 injuries. On November 19th, an incident of a car ramming into people occurred outside a primary school in Changde City, Hunan Province, with the number of injured individuals unknown.
In most countries around the world, large-scale incidents of casualties would make headline news. Reporters would quickly produce in-depth coverage, and the media and intellectuals would analyze and interpret such phenomena in detail to dispel public doubts and fears.
However, in recent years, the CCP’s response has become increasingly brutal and simplistic, typically limited to issuing police alerts with white text on blue backgrounds. Official media outlets are keen on reporting details of murder cases in the United States, while avoiding discussing negative topics like these domestically, and any dissemination of real information on social media is swiftly deleted.
Media personnel have confirmed that just two hours after the Zhuhai incident, there was already a reporting ban imposed by authorities. Meanwhile, there have been online rumors of a notice appearing in a Zhuhai property owners’ group, instructing party members to guide the news positively and emphasizing the possibility of foreign forces instigating chaos.
The CCP continues to tackle issues with a high-pressure stability maintenance approach, hesitating to address the root cause of the problem. The day after the Zhuhai car ramming incident, CCP leader Xi Jinping made a rare directive regarding the event, emphasizing the need to strengthen risk control at the source, promptly resolve conflicts, and guard against extreme incidents.
Authorities have required communities in Zhuhai to register and inspect individuals classified as “four unwanteds” and “five losts” within the districts.
Independent scholar Wu Zuolai, residing in the United States, told Epoch Times that when Xi Jinping mentions preventing incidents at the source, it implies using the Fengqiao experience to resolve conflicts within the communities. However, many conflicts are caused by local governments themselves, so how can those who create problems solve them?
Wu Zuolai pointed out that these issues should have been resolved legally, with exposure by news media and safeguarding by lawyers. Yet currently, lawyers advocating for rights are prevented from intervening, and investigative journalists now face high-risk situations – these traditional channels are no longer effective. The government prohibits civil society and independent forces from solving issues, preferring to rely on grassroots party organizations or public security to handle them.
This year has witnessed a higher frequency of violent incidents on the mainland compared to previous years. According to netizens’ statistics from January to now, nearly 100 incidents of killings and injuries have occurred in various regions of mainland China.
Reviewing 16 significant or impactful attack events since 2014, Reuters found that 10 of them occurred in 2024 alone. The death toll from attacks in 2024 is only comparable to that of 2014. However, this year saw three attacks targeting foreigners, resulting in the death of a Japanese citizen.
In 2014, there was a knife attack at Kunming Railway Station, leading to 31 deaths and 143 injuries. The same year, an event of suicide bombing by car explosion happened in Urumqi, resulting in 43 deaths and over 90 injuries. Authorities later attributed this to a terrorist attack.
Chinese independent intellectual Li Houchen, residing in Japan, believes that individuals in despair usually choose suicide; revenge acts often have specific targets, while indiscriminate violence is usually related to attracting public attention or conveying a certain declaration or ideology. Many recent cases lack specific targets for revenge and clear motives or declarations, seemingly only explained by the desire to drag others down even in death.
He also noted an anomaly in recent events, with a significant proportion of suspects being middle-aged men in their 50s to 60s, rather than young men aged 18 to 29, as commonly seen in violent acts.
Exiled human rights activist and scholar Li Yingzhi told Epoch Times that theoretically, grievances have their sources, and one should seek redress from the ones who wronged them. However, sometimes individuals may not be able to find the ones responsible. Why resort to indiscriminate killing? It’s because they are utterly hopeless and don’t wish to live anymore.
Mr. Chen from mainland China believes that many people with such thoughts of indiscriminate killings simply want to draw attention, especially from the higher-ups, and make more people understand their grievances.
“As life pressures intensify and the law is fundamentally incapable of solving any problems, without a religious belief to dispel animosity, it’s feared that more individuals may resort to similar actions in the future.”
Wu Zuolai believes that incidents like the 2008 Yangjia police assault in Shanghai adhered to the traditional principle of avenging wrongs, as the assailant sought revenge on specific targets rather than retaliating against society at large. However, the recent random attacks on strangers indicate societal retaliation.
“At first glance, it seems like societal revenge, but it’s essentially targeting the Communist Party or the government. Because they have reached a dead end, and the reason is the Communist Party. All major disastrous issues emerging in China nowadays are consequences of one-party dictatorship.”
Wu Zuolai mentioned that in the early 1990s, he went on an inspection tour outside his city, where a driver was fined by the police which he found unjust, akin to extortion. When the policeman left, the driver vocally criticized the Communist Party, worse than bandits.
“He wasn’t cursing that specific officer but the Communist Party. Even though it was just a casual remark, it directly addressed the core issues, which was very profound,” he remarked.
Wu Zuolai stated that revengeful societal retaliation incidents have actually been occurring since the early 1990s. During the urban reintegration of rural youth that time, the injustices and inequalities led to extreme acts like planting explosives at random on Beijing’s railway station, causing a horrific incident.
“Throughout the process of reform and opening up, due to the lack of political reforms such as judicial independence and autonomy of civil society, with the dominance of an unjust judiciary, stability held sway, leading to a mentality of high-handedness, making individuals feel there’s no other way out,” he added.
As the CCP safeguards its position, the dividends of reform have eroded bit by bit, making the entire state machinery a tool for external confrontation and internal suppression, with people’s livelihood pushed down the priority list.
A significant shift in the psychology of the Chinese populace has been observed, with fewer individuals believing they can change their fate through their own efforts and abilities. The entire societal sentiment is riddled with profound distrust towards the government and the judicial institutions.
During a CCP public security seminar last year, officials admitted that the perception of inequality between rich and poor, and between officials and the masses, has become widespread. Public sentiment is highly fragile, and clashes between officials and ordinary citizens have become common.
Between 2023 and 2024, several official killings occurred in various parts of China, involving officials from political advisory bodies to courts, township and village committees, and other departments.
Particularly on September 19th this year, Liu Wenjie, the director of the Finance Department of Hunan province, was found dead after falling from a building within a heavily guarded government compound.
Amid economic downturn and the absence of outlets for venting frustrations, there is a noticeable trend towards violence.
On the night of October 23rd, a cement truck deliberately rammed into multiple vehicles on People’s Road in the Beiq district of Qingdao, Shandong province, with the driver capturing the incident on video, shouting, “The Communist Party is not letting me live; I want to kill people.”
In a newly circulated video, a truck driver lamented that he agreed on a fee of 600 yuan on a delivery platform, but the recipient refused to pay upon delivery, leading to the loss of his job. The distressed driver cried out, saying, “One life for one life.”
Official narratives surrounding such violent incidents still emphasize the criminal aspect, while the public expresses alternative emotional responses.
Chinese netizens frequently use the term “Xian Zhong” to describe such acts of violence. This internet meme became popular since 2021, with Zhang Xianzhong being a notorious leader of a peasant uprising during the late Ming Dynasty, known for the indiscriminate massacre of Sichuanese residents.
“As repression intensifies within the lower strata of society, individuals teeter on the edge of neuroticism, feeling desperate. Thus, no matter who disrupts societal order, smashing things first and addressing it later, serves as an outlet for pent-up frustrations,” a netizen remarked.
This sentiment mirrors the psychology of the people during the decline of past dynasties; the earliest expression being, “When days and time end, we meet our end together.”
On a global scale, the methods to address domestic violence incidents primarily involve economic prosperity, judicial fairness, freedom of speech, and a secure welfare system.
However, the CCP authorities do not endorse this universal approach. Instead, they continue to enforce a cycle of hate education and setting up various substantial obstacles for the Chinese populace.
Wu Zuolai stated that textbooks during his childhood taught a revenge education, advocating blood debts be repaid with blood, which has now transformed into hatred towards the Communist Party and society. He has witnessed numerous individuals resorting to petitions with no avail, eventually leading to destitution. Despite personal efforts, some individuals choose to retaliate against the society.
“This forms a logic which, once spread like a virus, signifies the collapse of society, and that’s the most terrifying part.”
Legal scholar Lao Dongyan questioned on her personal Weibo account: when a person commits extreme antisocial acts with a willingness to die, and the deterrence of punishment no longer has an effect, what effective measures should be taken?
“Firearms can be banned, knives can be restricted, should kitchen knives also be secured with iron chains? Now, with off-road vehicles being used as instruments of crime, can we prohibit off-road vehicles from being on the roads?” asked one netizen.
“Severe punishment, aggressive law enforcement, various institutions and media appealing for zero tolerance, may deter some individuals, but for those disillusioned, deluded, and giving up on life, no system can prevent them,” another netizen wrote.
A series of attack incidents have sent shockwaves through the CCP’s security and judicial institutions. The Ministry of Public Security and the Supreme Procuratorate have successively held meetings, deciding to “strengthen risk control at the source” and “resolutely crack down on criminal activities rapidly and strictly in accordance with the law to effectively deter crime.”
Li Yingzhi mentioned that in practice, this approach is entirely ineffective. Those who resort to such actions no longer desire to live, and using the death penalty to deter them seems absurd. As an ancient Chinese saying goes, when the people do not fear death, how can they be coerced by death?
“Firstly, there is the silencing of speech and lack of press freedom; secondly, the avenue of addressing grievances is blocked; thirdly, the judicial system fails to function—these are systemic issues. If there were avenues to resolve problems, we wouldn’t have reached this point, such as the case of Xu, a graduate from Wuxi Vocational College of Technology.”
Wu Zuolai emphasized that in ancient times, there were talks of ‘the country perishing or the world ending.’ When the justice of the world is lost, when morality is lost, when heavenly principles and conscience are lost.
“After the Communist Party seized power, it has continued to undermine society, and now the final result is the collapse of the world, the world has been destroyed by it, it’s truly beyond redemption.”
Wu Zuolai added that the CCP almost has no solution to this problem now. If it doesn’t address the political issues, doesn’t change the entire social ecology to facilitate the growth of judicial independence and civil society autonomy, these tragic events will continue to occur incessantly.