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Josephine Ma

In the two weeks after two mass killings in China, top law enforcement and judicial officials pledged one after another to identify risks and ensure social stability.
The first incident was a car attack in Zhuhai, a city in the southern province of Guangdong, on November 11 when an SUV was driven into groups of people exercising outside a sports stadium, killing 35 and injuring dozens more.
The same day, President Xi Jinping, in a rare move, ordered officials nationwide to identify risks and resolve grievances at an early stage.
Then on November 16, a knifeman killed eight and injured 17 at a vocational college in Yixing in Zhejiang province in the east of the country.
The suspect in the first case was said to hold grievances over his divorce settlement, while the suspect in the second case was a former student at the college who was reportedly unhappy with the low pay he received as a factory intern.
These two cases brought international attention to indiscriminate attacks by disgruntled individuals in China.
Although some overseas media outlets tried to count the number of such attacks last year, it is difficult to get the whole picture because there are no official statistics.
Some of the reports about cars hitting pedestrians are also too vague to determine whether they are deliberate or accidents, including a recent incident where eight people were injured when a car hit a group of people outside a primary school in Changde in Hunan.


But one thing is clear, the Chinese authorities are on high alert, especially as the country is facing an economic downturn and the youth unemployment rate is high.
Grass-roots government workers have been asked to step up surveillance to identify people who might pose a risk to others and intervene before any of them resort to violence.
In a meeting at the Ministry of Justice on Friday, local authorities were asked to identify disputes between neighbours and families, or rows over issues such as inheritances or late salaries, and try to resolve them as early as possible.
Two days later, Yin Bai, the secretary general of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, which supervises law enforcement agencies, said during a trip to Yixing, where the college knife attack happened, that local officials should make use of big data to identify potential attackers.
Even before the Zhuhai attack, the authorities had already ordered grass-roots officials to identify and monitor the different types of people who may be nurturing grievances against society.
They include those who have lost money in failed investments, people who have lost their jobs, seen relationships break up, have troubled relationships with other people, those with unstable emotions and mental problems, as well as juveniles with no proper guardianship or parental care.
Local officials or government workers were also told to keep an eye on those who have low incomes, low social status and a poor social reputation.
While the purposes are different, the Chinese authorities are using the same tools of social control used during Covid: a grid grass-roots governance system that relies heavily on community workers, as well as big data.
However, social control can hardly address the complexity of human emotional needs and social issues, such as marriage problems or unhappiness during internship.
While the number of university graduates studying counselling, psychology, mental health and social work in China have increased in recent years, the openings in these fields are not enough to meet the needs of society.


This is partly because most social services are provided by government-backed organisations but also because of the restrictions faced by non-governmental organisations in China.
In other countries, there are many options to deal with people’s mental and emotional needs, including self-help groups, NGOs, religious and spiritual activities and artistic free expression.
But with all these lacking in China, there are far fewer options to help a society to weather economic problems, ageing, unemployment and other social problems.


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My Take

China’s authorities may struggle to address people’s emotional needs

Residents places tributes to the dead outside the stadium in Zhuhai where 35 people were killed by an SUV. Photo: EPA-EFE

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A mourner offers prayers on Wednesday outside a sports centre in Zhuhai, the site of Monday’s deadly attack. Photo: Kyodo

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A security guard keeps watch on Wednesday near the entrance to a plaza in Zhuhai, China, where days earlier a man rammed his car into a crowd of people. Photo: AP

A security guard keeps watch from behind barricades near the entrance to a sports centre in Zhuhai, China, where 35 people were killed when a car was driven into a crowd of people on November 11. Photo: AP

Residents pass near the sign for Zhuhai Sports Center where a man rammed his car into a crowd of people, killing and injuring dozens of people. Photo: AP

The vehicle used in the Zhuhai attack can be seen in the background of this still taken from video footage of the incident. Photo: Handout

Opinion

China Opinion

Efforts to step up social control following two recent mass killings can only go so far in tackling complex personal matters


Efforts to step up social control following two recent mass killings can only go so far in tackling complex personal matters.


Crime in China

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

My Take | China’s authorities may struggle to address people’s emotional needs

Efforts to step up social control following two recent mass killings can only go so far in tackling complex personal matters