In recent times, there has been a surge in extreme acts of violence in mainland China. Over the past week, two separate incidents of stabbings resulting in at least 5 deaths and 3 injuries have occurred at universities in Fujian and Liaoning provinces. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) promptly took measures to block related information.
Reports circulating online describe a heinous murder incident that took place on April 18 at Fujian University of Technology. According to chat records among students, a conflict arose between two students while playing a game called “hitting tiles,” leading one student to attack the other with a knife before taking their own life by jumping off a building.
Videos and images shared online revealed the dormitory floors stained with blood, one person lying on the ground surrounded by a pool of blood, and another seen lying face-up in the grass nearby with visible bloodstains on their arms.
A male student from the university informed the media that the two deceased individuals were likely seniors living on the sixth floor of his building, stating, “Both are gone, today is the seventh day mourning.”
However, he clarified that the conflict resulting in the tragic event was not solely related to the game they played; there had been underlying tensions between them. On the day of the incident, one student continually harassed the other during the game, leading to a fatal outcome followed by the assailant’s suicide leap. Currently, students from that dormitory have been relocated to other living quarters.
Just within the past week, a similar stabbing incident occurred at a university in Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province. Reports indicated that around 2 AM, a student specializing in electrical power at Liaoning Technical College of Railway executed an attack on three dormitory mates, resulting in the deaths of three and injuries to three others. Some sources even mentioned four fatalities and two severe injuries.
A friend of a student from Liaoning Technical College shared that the incident happened around midnight on the 23rd, where the perpetrator, unable to endure bullying, resorted to murdering the student who was bullying him. Details on the exact number of casualties were still unclear.
According to the student, all parties involved in the incident had been taken in for questioning, with continuous surveillance on eyewitnesses. His friend had their social media account suspended for discussing the incident, and is now under constant surveillance in their dormitory, unresponsive to messages – likely due to their phone being confiscated.
A netizen claiming to be a parent of a student involved posted a message, revealing that their child had been a repeated target of bullying by students from two adjacent dorm rooms. In an attempt to retaliate, the child allegedly planned to harm all six individuals in their dorm room and those in the neighboring room, resulting in four deaths and two severe injuries. The other room reportedly locked their door at night to avoid a similar fate.
The concerned parent also mentioned that according to students at the college, the school’s teachers and administrators had canceled the upcoming May Day holiday for all students and restricted communication by blocking their phones to prevent the spread of information.
In response, the Jinzhou City Committee’s Publicity Department declined to disclose specific details on the ongoing police investigation, saying updates would be released if any significant progress is made. Calls to the college remained unanswered.
Many internet users criticized the lack of transparency, questioning the authorities’ reluctance to disclose information and suggesting incompetence in handling such incidents. Some expressed doubts about the credibility of the situation, while others highlighted systemic issues within vocational schools in China, contrasting them unfavorably with vocational schools abroad.
Furthermore, concerns were raised about the quality of education and the impact of flawed administrative practices on students’ well-being and safety. The critique extended to the profit-oriented approach of numerous universities that seemingly prioritize financial gain over academic integrity and students’ welfare, with calls for better oversight and reform in the education sector.