Candles and floral tributes were placed outside a sports center in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, China, where a deadly hit-and-run incident occurred last week.
A former student launched a stabbing spree at a vocational college in eastern China, resulting in the deaths of eight people and injuries to 17 others, according to police reports on Sunday. This incident has sparked further introspection, coming just days after the most fatal attack in the country in ten years.
The knife attack occurred at the Wuxi Vocational College of Arts and Technology in Yixing, part of Wuxi city in Jiangsu province. The suspect, a 21-year-old man, was apprehended at the scene and admitted to the crime, police stated.
On the same day, authorities in Zhuhai announced charges against a 62-year-old man who allegedly drove his car into a crowd outside a sports stadium, resulting in 35 fatalities and 43 injuries on Monday night.
In both instances, the suspects resorted to fatal violence against unrelated bystanders following economic setbacks, as per the limited details provided by the police.
These killings have ignited a rare and heavily censored online debate about mental health in China, the increasing pressures as the world's second-largest economy slows, and whether the younger generation will fare worse than those before them who benefited from China's rapid development.
At least six other high-profile knife attacks have been documented across China this year. Police in Wuxi revealed that the stabbing suspect was enraged over not receiving his graduation certificate, failing an exam, and dissatisfaction with his pay.
According to the Yixing Public Security Bureau, the suspect attacked others after failing an exam, not receiving his graduation certificate, and being unhappy with his internship compensation.
On Sunday, a Reuters witness observed students leaving the school with suitcases, although one student, who preferred not to disclose her name, mentioned that classes were still ongoing.
A man who arrived to lay a bouquet of chrysanthemums near one of the school gates, giving his surname as Duan, expressed his sorrow, saying, "They were just 18, 19-year-old kids. It's such a pity and so sad." He added, "We really need to provide better psychological guidance for young people." The bouquet was promptly removed by security.
The Zhuhai suspect was reportedly upset about the terms of a divorce settlement, according to the police.
Qu Weiguo, a professor at Fudan University, noted that the recent cases of "indiscriminate revenge against society" in China share common traits: disadvantaged suspects, many with mental health issues, who feel they have been treated unfairly and believe they have no other means to be heard.
Qu emphasized the importance of establishing a social safety net and a psychological counseling mechanism. However, to minimize such cases, the most effective approach is to open public channels that can monitor and expose the misuse of power, as he posted on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. The short essay was removed by censors by Sunday afternoon.
Wuxi Vocational College offers courses preparing students for industries such as wire and cable manufacturing, interior design, marketing, and other fields, according to its website.
These junior colleges are part of an initiative to guide more young people into job-specific training rather than oversubscribed universities as youth unemployment rises.
Online discussion topics over the past year have highlighted the diminishing optimism in China regarding job, income, and opportunity turnarounds. One such topic, "the garbage time of history," gained traction in the summer as a metaphor for economic despair.
In recent weeks, Chinese officials have introduced a series of stimulus measures to revitalize the economy. President Xi Jinping also intervened following Monday's car attack, urging local police to "enhance their risk control" by identifying individuals at risk of lashing out.
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