“People are more interested in political posturing, nationality, history and hatred than in human life”

The fatal stabbing attack on a Japanese fifth-grader on his way to school in the southern Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen on Wednesday – just months after a similar fatal stabbing attack at a Japanese school bus stop in Suzhou – has sparked a flood of Chinese-language articles and commentaries addressing the role of nationalist propaganda, “patriotic education” and xenophobic sentiments online in fuelling such attacks. Such articles have also been extensively censored on Chinese social media, and comments on the stabbing attacks have been deleted across the board. Many commentators expressed shame that such a brutal attack on a child could take place in Shenzhen, the cradle of Deng Xiaoping's “reform and opening-up” policy, which is widely regarded as one of China's most open, progressive and cosmopolitan cities. Hundreds of Shenzhen residents have left condolences and flowers at the gate of the Japanese school, and the Weibo page of the Japanese Embassy in Beijing has been flooded with many supportive, apologetic and comforting comments.

The suspect, a 44-year-old Chinese man, was arrested by police. Although the man's motives remain unclear, many observers suspect that anti-Japanese hatred may be behind the attack. The stabbing occurred on September 18, the anniversary of the 1931 “Mukden Incident,” which served as a pretext for the Japanese Imperial Army's invasion of Manchuria. Each year, this day is marked by an increase in anti-Japanese rhetoric on Chinese television, in school classrooms, and in various state media.

CDT is publishing a series of posts about Chinese people's online reactions to anti-Japanese xenophobia and violence. The first post covered the initial public outcry following the stabbing of the boy in Shenzhen and included translations of two essays on the subject. This second post includes translated comments from netizens on Weibo, as well as selected excerpts from four now-censored articles and essays.

The CDT editors have reviewed some of the Comments from Weibo users on the attack:

ichbinX1m1ng: This is the result of an education system that “teaches hate”. It is truly shameful.

runner6: Put yourself in their shoes and imagine what the reaction in China would be if one of our elementary school students who goes to school in Japan was stabbed to death by a Japanese. It seems that many people care more about political posturing, nationality, history and hatred than about human lives. This shows that we are still far from being civilized.

Latest news from 2019: What has this little boy ever done wrong? This is the result of a lifetime of “patriotic” education – it produces cowards who are only capable of taking advantage of the weak.

Question: Can we still proclaim to the world that we are a peace-loving country?

晓磊的基金生活: If there had been a little self-reflection after the Suzhou knife attack, perhaps it wouldn't have come to this… There are many things we need to reflect on, particularly how the current climate of public opinion has led to incidents like this. Who is to blame?

Peng笔生辉: Even Ms. Hu Youping's bravery and sacrifice are not enough to stop the violence of this populist dregs of society. As Lu Xun wrote, “When a brave man is outraged, he draws his sword against an oppressor stronger than himself. When a coward is outraged, he draws his sword against a man weaker than himself. Among a race of hopeless cowards, there must be 'heroes' who specialize in intimidating children.” What cowards!

T半颗心T: What is the difference between killing an innocent Japanese child and [wartime] Japanese militarism and fascism? Some people and online influencers with a capital V use “national feeling” as an excuse, but we Chinese with a conscience are not beasts and would never take out our anger on a child. [Chinese]

CDT has also compiled some of the best excerpts from the flood of self-critical articles and essays on WeChat about the Shenzhen attack. All four articles below have been deleted by the platform's censors.

From a censored article on the WeChat account Narwhal Workshop criticizing the vague initial reporting and the ambiguously worded police report:

This “spiral of incitement” will not benefit China's socio-economic development in any way. Some of my friends believe that these frequent attacks on Japanese children will only accelerate the withdrawal of Japanese companies from China, which seems to be a reasonable conclusion. When such tragedies happen, ambiguity only makes things worse.

From a censored article by the WeChat account Da Leng discussing how the stabbing has affected Shenzhen's reputation as one of China's most tolerant, diverse and open cities:

Shenzhen's response to this tragic, shameful and extreme incident will show whether the city, whose fate rests on China's “reform and opening-up” policy, is still willing to continue the opening-up process and whether it still values ​​human life, dignity and freedom.

From a censored article by the WeChat account Shenzhen Visitor, which echoes the apologies of many Shenzhen residents who left flowers at the school or expressed their condolences online:

I want to tell the Japanese boy that we are sorry.

From a censored article by the technology-focused WeChat account Planetary Business Review, reflecting on Shenzhen's history as a bastion of reform and opening-up, with Japanese companies among the city's early investors:

After the incident, some reporters took photos of the crime scene outside the school walls. Some of the paving stones on the sidewalk were noticeably pale, bleached white by repeated washing. [to clean off the bloodstains].