A Hushed Wave of Violence

By Eleanor Albert

The media was whipped into a frenzy after the tragedy of the Columbine shootings in the United States in 1999 – that was students-killing-students. In recent months, China has been home to a similarly shocking violence in an academic context, but in the Middle Kingdom children are the victims of teachers.

“There likely is no single explanation for the assaults in Fujian, Shandong, Jiangsu and, on Wednesday, in Guangdong Province, where a 33-year-old former teacher stabbed 15 fourth-and fifth-graders.”

“In Taixing, the city in Jiangsu Province where a knife-wielding man stabbed 28 kindergarten students and three adults on Thursday, critically wounding at least five children.”

“A crazed man who on Friday beat five toddlers with a hammer, then set himself on fire with two other children in his arms.”

“Students in four other schools and a day care center were attacked by knife-wielding men who stabbed dozens of children.”

The root of such violence? Most likely frustrations from an imbalanced society and rampant corruption at the local level. What is most horrific in the aftermath in China is that these issues are being suppressed and thrown into a box and sealed shut. From an analytical perspective, the Chinese government and state controlled media are “ignoring” the incidents because of the potential threat they pose to the credibility and legitimacy of the authoritarian party-rule that the CCP enjoys.

For now, the CCP can still get away with this. However, it is not a sustainable policy. The continued growth of the Chinese economy will lead to further engagement with the world and the Chinese will want reform and the means to make the CCP accountable. This is not to say that the Chinese people desire radical regime change—they are still extremely nationalistic and proud of the successes of China in the last 30 years under CCP leadership and will continue to look to that leadership in the future.