China removes memorials at site of car ramming attack amid public outrage

BEIJING: Authorities in Zhuhai, a city in southern China, have removed memorials, including wreaths, candles, and bottles of Chinese alcohol, placed at the site of a deadly car-ramming attack, Al Jazeera has reported.

The move by the Chinese authorities appears to be an attempt to manage public outrage over the government’s response to the tragedy, which left 35 people dead and 43 others injured.

According to the police, the incident occurred on Monday when a 62-year-old man, identified by his surname Fan, drove his SUV through a gate of a sports complex in Guangdong province, running over people who were exercising inside, as reported by Al Jazeera.

#Zhuhai, #China

During the Airshow China 2024 exhibition, where the new Su-57 was showcased, a possible terrorist attack occurred when a car drove into a crowd of peopme in the city of Zhuhai injuring ~20 people and k¡lling about 10 people.

A 62-year-old driver crashed his car… pic.twitter.com/r5WFPhBzMT

— Lucifer (@krishnakamal077) November 12, 2024

Following the attack, there was a significant delay in the government’s announcement of the death toll, with initial police reports failing to mention any fatalities. The slow response, combined with the removal of videos related to the attack, sparked public anger on Chinese social media, where posts criticising the government’s handling were swiftly censored, Al Jazeera reported.

By Wednesday afternoon, a hashtag associated with the attack had been taken down from the top spot on the well-known social media platform Weibo.

The attack is the deadliest mass killing in China in nearly a decade and is considered the worst since a vehicle ramming and bomb attack in Urumqi in 2014, which killed 43 people and injured more than 90. Authorities have suggested that Fan’s actions may have been driven by “dissatisfaction with the division of property following his divorce.”

In the wake of the attack, Zhuhai authorities increased security at the site and moved the memorial items to a “mourning hall” inside the complex, which is not accessible to the public. While Fan, who had self-inflicted himself with a knife after the attack, is in a coma and unable to be questioned, police said the incident appears to have been personally motivated, Al Jazeera reported.

The attack coincided with China’s major aviation exhibition in Zhuhai, which attracted widespread media attention. Although there’s no indication the two events were linked, the timing may have been an attempt by citizens to draw attention to the tragedy amidst the ongoing coverage of the airshow.

Violent crimes are relatively rare in China, but the country has seen a series of deadly incidents in recent months. In response to the Zhuhai attack, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for “strictly guard against the occurrence of extreme cases”, as reported by Xinhua. (ANI)