China’s social safety problems are increasingly drawing public attention. In the last two weeks of May, violent cases occurred in many parts of China, even resulting in the death and injury of primary school students.
A Woman Stabbed Children in an Elementary School
In the New Tang Dynasty’s program “Pinnacle View,” independent TV producer Li Jun said that he noticed that the most shocking of the several cases circulating online is the murder case of a primary school, where the perpetrator was a woman.“This happened in Jiangxi Province, Guixi City, Wenfang Township, Mingde Primary School, on May 20, about noon, when children had just eaten lunch were resting, suddenly a 40-some-year-old woman said to be a teacher’s wife, came in with a fruit knife. As these children did not realize what was happening and did not know how to escape, she began to slaughter them one by one. The scene could be described as a horror scene as some children were so scared that they did not dare to move. After some time, some teachers rushed out to stop the woman. The official report said that two children were killed and eight injured. However, a netizen said he saw more than 20 children lying on the ground.”
“Some witnesses said that the woman was frenzied as if she had gone crazy, and I believe there may be a deeper social reason for her behavior.”
Mr. Li said that in the last one or two years, such cases have been more frequently seen on Chinese news media and social platforms. “I found five retaliation cases in five days while browsing the internet for about ten minutes: In addition to the above-mentioned woman in Jiangxi Province, On May 20, a man in Chenzhou, Hunan Province, randomly attacked people in a park. On May 21, a male driver in Wusheng County, Sichuan Province, hit a pedestrian with his car and killed five people. On May 21, a male in Zigong, Sichuan Province, killed and injured many passengers on a bus, including the bus driver. On May 17 in Guangzhou, a driver drove his car into pedestrians for three kilometers, causing 15 deaths on the spot.”
Cases of deliberate public killings occur almost daily, in part reflecting an extreme sentiment of hatred and resentment brewing in Chinese society, according to Mr. Li.
“People get upset about that news, with some online comments reading, ‘The Chinese society is now too hostile. We must be careful not to conflict with others. Be cautious!’” Mr. Li said.
Despite a spike in vicious cases in recent years, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Propaganda Department cited data from the Public Security Department in a July 2022 press briefing, stating that “the overall social security situation was stable … China is one of the safest countries.”
As per Guo Jun, editor-in-chief of the Hong Kong Epoch Times, this statement is unconvincing as official figures usually won’t incorporate all cases involving public security: “I know many local public security bureaus do not register general criminal cases for investigation because they have a certain quota of case solvation rate. If they file one case for investigation but cannot solve it, the case solution rate will be affected, and they will lose their bonus.”
Economic Turmoil
U.S.-based Chinese private entrepreneur Meng Jun said on “Pinnacle View,” “The current Chinese economic climate is awful, and the economy has already reached a low point. The collapse of the real estate sector has triggered a financial crisis, and an array of vicious problems resulting from it, including social problems, have been revealed.”As per Mr. Meng, over the years, especially during the decade of Xi’s reign and after the pandemic of the past five years, massive companies have gone bankrupt, and now most entrepreneurs are avoiding developing businesses. “Some might expect improvements in economic policies at the party’s two sessions this March, but their hope has been completely shattered. Those business owners have gotten into deeper and deeper trouble, and getting out of the country is more difficult than before.”
“All of my friends in China are utterly desperate because they don’t see a future.” Mr. Meng said.
On “Pinnacle View,” Shi Shan, senior editor and chief writer of the Chinese language Epoch Times, said that China is facing increasing employment pressures, citing an official report in March that unemployed college graduates exceeded 11.7 million, an increase of 120,000 compared to last year.
“The recent year coincided with an economic downturn and the largest number of companies closures, so the employment outlook for Chinese youth in the coming years is not optimistic and even worse.” Mr. Shi said.
Ms. Guo noted that numerous studies on the correlation between unemployment and criminalization rates have proved that the higher the unemployment rate, the more criminal cases there are in society.
“In the 1930s, during the Great Depression in the U.S., the public society problem was severe. We have seen a lot of American superhero movies, such as Superman, Batman, and others made in that era, pinning hopes on superheroes to cope with social problems.”
A Teetering China Before Huge Shift
In Ms. Guo’s view, China’s overall economic situation has reached a crossroads, shifting from past high growth to current stagnation. These dramatic changes affect social order and public security.“I remembered then leader of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection Wang Qishan recommended to cadres the book ‘The Old Regime and the Revolution’ during the 18th party congress in 2012.”
The Old Regime and the Revolution is a historical workpiece published in 1856 by the French historian Alexis de Tocqueville. It analyzes the causes and social forces in French society that gave rise to the French Revolution.
“France was the fastest growing country in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, but the French Revolution occurred. The book describes how when the structure of French society changed too quickly, social tensions intensified, and revolution erupted.”
China faces a similar crossroads as France, Ms. Guo said.
“China’s economy is declining too fast, triggering the imbalance in all aspects of society. As a result, the social problems might be even more serious than those in France, more complicated to deal with, and more likely to go out of control.”
According to Ms. Guo, in the history of the CCP, the two most turbulent periods in society were the late Cultural Revolution (1960s-1970s) and the early stage of Chinese Economic Reform (1980s-1990s).
‘CCP May Start a War to Divert Social Unrest’
Mr. Meng believes that the Chinese social instability is uncontrollable even under the CCP’s harsh rule as when the economy is heading toward repression and the people at the bottom of the social ladder have no help from the government and no place to appeal, some in a very depressed or desperate state may commit something irrational, hurting others and themselves to vent discontent.Further elaborating on its social roots, Mr. Meng continued, “The extreme and opaque measures implemented during the epidemic have deepened this depression and resentment. Coupled with the communist brainwashing for several generations, many people have become egotistical and lost faith in moral values. Therefore, nationals educated by the Communist Party are prone to develop hostility.”
“What worries me is that under the CCP’s rule, even worse violent incidents will occur.”
Mr. Meng surmised that the CCP may wage war to divert social unrest and its rule crisis as it did in the past. “The entire economic and social problem is unsolved for the CCP leadership, so the CCP’s final approach, after failing at other policies to revive the economy and alleviate social conflicts, is to stage a war to solve all problems, to shift this social uproar, to distract this public focus.”
