The shocking incident of a car ramming into pedestrians in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province has sparked widespread criticism of the handling by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities. Reports indicate that some of the deceased have already been cremated, with authorities now forcibly advancing the cremation process without informing the families. Some relatives have accused the authorities of preventing them from seeing the victims, as in some cases the bodies of the deceased have been taken to the mortuary without their knowledge.
On the eve of the Zhuhai Air Show, on the night of November 11th, a 62-year-old man surnamed Fan drove an off-road vehicle into a crowd of people strolling and exercising at the Zhuhai Sports Center. Following the incident, the CCP authorities swiftly censored information, only announcing 35 deaths and 43 injuries a day later. However, there are rumors circulating online claiming that over a hundred people were knocked down.
In the aftermath, the injured were taken to four local hospitals. Due to the overwhelming number of casualties, the hospitals were in a chaotic state, with the injured waiting two to three hours before receiving treatment.
According to a report by the Hong Kong newspaper “Ming Pao” on November 14, a journalist from the paper visited the Zhuhai mortuary responsible for receiving the bodies of the deceased on the 13th. They observed tight security at the mortuary, with multiple police officers and cars stationed at the entrance, where individuals had to undergo scrutiny before being allowed entry, limited to only relatives and friends of the deceased.
Ms. X, a relative who rushed from Ganzhou, Jiangxi, completed the cremation procedures for her deceased sister on the 13th. She expressed disappointment in the treatment after the accident, revealing that her late sister was sent to Zhongshan Fifth Hospital, which was understaffed at night, leading to a chaotic allocation of medical resources.
Ms. X mentioned that other relatives had arrived from Guangzhou to Zhuhai by 10 pm on the 11th, yet the hospital did not permit them to see the victims. Only at 5 am on the 12th, when it was too late, were the families allowed a final goodbye. She revealed that some bodies were taken to the mortuary without informing the families.
Ms. A shared that when she saw her deceased sister, they were already at the mortuary, speculating that perhaps the authorities had given the families an option at that time to transfer hospitals, holding onto hope for possible recovery.
Residents near the mortuary noted that the highest number of bodies were brought in on the 12th, with long queues outside the facility. Most families completed the formalities on that day, with some bodies being cremated while others awaited identification and insurance processes.
An employee assisting with the funeral procedures at the mortuary mentioned, “Now they are starting to enforce (cremation).”
On the night of the incident, there were six walking teams at the sports center, each consisting of forty to fifty members, who frequented the area daily for fitness routines, with additional individuals running and exercising in the plaza.
An informant informed Dajiyuan that his friend’s mother was part of one of the walking teams and sustained serious injuries that night. Upon reaching the hospital, chaos prevailed, and it took two to three hours before she received treatment. After the family signed a critical condition notice, she was finally admitted to the ICU for emergency treatment.
Relatives of the victims also mentioned that the loud music played by the walking teams prevented those in the front from hearing the screams as the vehicle approached from behind, resulting in many not being able to flee in time. They estimated that there were over a hundred casualties at the scene.
The handling of this heinous vehicular attack in Zhuhai by the CCP authorities has raised doubts, particularly the immediate censorship of information. There were even screenshots on WeChat suggesting that the local government was attempting to shift blame onto “external forces,” claiming these forces sought to disrupt the air show.
Furthermore, the local public security bureau disclosed that the suspect, Mr. Fan, carried out the attack due to dissatisfaction with the outcome of his divorce settlement. However, there are doubts from the public regarding the authorities’ omission of the fact that the suspect had filed a complaint at the intermediate court, suggesting potential judicial injustice in this case.
The officially reported casualty figures consistently remained below 35, sparking discussions. An insider revealed that in mainland China, if the death toll from a single incident exceeds 35, the top official of the local government is removed from their position. Consequently, in the event of an accident, authorities promptly engage in cover-ups to avoid such consequences.
In the two days following the violent car ramming incident at the Zhuhai Sports Center, the expanded meeting of the CCP Central Committee’s Politics and Law Commission was held in Beijing on the 13th, emphasizing the swift clarification of the circumstances. Nevertheless, the meeting primarily stressed the adherence to the so-called “Fengqiao Experience” in the new era, further tightening overall social control, as well as summarizing the practices of the “Chaoyang Masses” in Beijing, which is perceived by outsiders as a civilian espionage organization under the CCP.
Following the incident, CCP leader Xi Jinping directed that measures be taken to “draw lessons and strengthen risk prevention at its source, timely resolve disputes, and prevent extreme incidents.”
French current affairs commentator and independent film director Wang Longmeng, speaking with Radio Free Asia, directly pointed to the CCP as the root of social violence in China. Regarding the emphasis put by the authorities on risk prevention at its source and identification of key groups, Wang Longmeng expressed concerns that the CCP might exploit this “sacrifice event” to conduct a thorough purge throughout society, further provoking the emergence of more “sacrifices.”