On September 5, the Qin du Sub-Bureau of Public Security Bureau of Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province issued a wanted notice. The notice stated that the bureau is investigating a serious criminal case and identified Zhang Zhihao, Feng Long, Zhao Junqing, Zhang Pengfei, Jing Weiwei as suspects who fled on July 19, 2024.
The notice only listed the names, genders, hometowns, ID numbers, and addresses of the five individuals and offered a reward of 10,000 to 30,000 yuan for information leading to their capture.
There are at least 11 abnormalities in the above wanted notice: (1) no mention of when the case occurred; (2) no mention of where the incident took place; (3) no mention of the specific crime the suspects are involved in; (4) no mention of the victim’s situation; (5) no mention of any potential property loss by the victim; (6) no mention of the suspects’ tools or methods used in the crime; (7) no indication of which direction the suspects may have fled; (8) besides the personal information of the suspects, no additional clues provided by the authorities to assist the public in solving the case; (9) the reward notice was issued 48 days after the suspects fled; (10) no explanation why the authorities remained silent on such a major criminal case for 48 days; (11) no mention of whether the suspects are armed and pose a threat to public safety.
Due to the deliberate concealment in the notice, many people speculated that it might involve the killing of an official and their entire family.
Online rumors suggest that the five suspects were involved in organized crime and committed a robbery resulting in the massacre of the deputy mayor of Xianyang City and his family.
Subsequently, netizens noted that the name of Deputy Mayor Wang Hongbing was conspicuously absent from the list of attendees for the 6th plenary session of the 8th Xianyang Municipal Committee held on September 6, indirectly suggesting that the murdered official might be Deputy Mayor Wang Hongbing.
There are also reports online alleging that the five suspects are all retired veterans and received protection from high-ranking military personnel.
Based on the 11 anomalies in the wanted notice, it is personally assessed that it likely involves the killing of an official and possibly their family, with the perpetrators escaping immediately after careful planning, leading to the authorities’ failure to apprehend them even after 48 days.
Discussing cases of officials being killed in mainland China inevitably brings to mind the Yang Jia incident, which sparked huge controversies in society.
On July 1, 2008, feeling unjustly treated and humiliated by the police, Yang Jia stormed into the Shanghai Zhabei Public Security Sub-Bureau with a knife, killing six police officers and injuring four others and a security guard.
Among the six slain officers, Zhang Yijie was a Senior Police Inspector who had served as Deputy Leader of the Zhabei Public Security Sub-Bureau’s Public Security Detachment, Deputy Leader of the Special Police Team, and an instructor; and Ni Jingrong was also a Senior Police Inspector who had previously served as Head of the Special Police Team of the Zhabei Public Security Sub-Bureau.
Regarding Yang Jia, there are reports stating that his initial motive was based on the idea of seeking justice, “If you don’t give me an explanation, I will give you one”. His motivation for the crime was explained with the first sentence being, “If some grievances are to be carried for a lifetime, then I would rather break the law”.
On January 4, 2017, around 11 am, Chen Zhongshu, the Director of the Land Bureau of Panzhihua City in Sichuan Province, entered the Panzhihua Convention and Exhibition Centre armed with a gun and shot at the leaders of the Municipal Committee and Government meeting before fleeing. The Party Secretary Zhang Yan and Mayor Li Jianqin were injured.
This shooting incident was one of the significant criminal cases of “officials killing officials” since Xi Jinping launched the anti-corruption campaign in 2013.
Following this incident, on January 9, 2017, Radio Free Asia reported on various officials being shot incidents in mainland China post-establishment of the Chinese Communist Party, including:
– In the early hours of December 17, 1970, the former Political Commissar of the Kunming Military Region Tan Puren and his wife were shot dead by the Director of the Security Section Wang Zizheng following allegations of historical issues reported by their hometown. The police investigation revealed that the killer was discontented due to historical issues reported in his hometown.
– In 1994, Chen Jinyun, the County Magistrate of Anyi County in Jiangxi Province, attempted to replace the County Party Secretary Hu Cigan. After unsuccessful tactics, he hired a re-educated released prisoner Yu Jun to use a car to kill Hu. Although Hu was lightly injured, he was scared and soon transferred, allowing Chen Jinyun to become the County Party Secretary. Later, the Deputy Party Secretary Wan Xianyong clashed with Chen Jinyun, leading Chen to hire Yu Jun once again to severely injure Wan Xianyong.
– In 1995, Wu Zhengyang, the Deputy Mayor of Qiongshan City in Hainan Province, learned that he would be reassigned as the Deputy Chairman of the City Political Consultative Conference while the Director of the City Education Bureau Wu Daqin, who he had a strained relationship with, would take over his role as Deputy Mayor, he bribed Liang Zhenjiang and Wang Naibin to assassinate Wu Daqin.
– In 1996, Li Peiyao, the Deputy Chairman of the National People’s Congress, was killed by Zhang Jinlong, a People’s Armed Police officer stationed at his residence. The Chinese Communist Party officially claimed that Zhang committed the murder during a theft. However, another interpretation suggests that Li Peiyao raped the sister of Zhang, who he had introduced to work as a nanny, leading Zhang to retaliate by killing Li.
– In 1997, Yang Jinsheng, the Deputy Director of the Environmental Protection Bureau in Fujian Province, sought to replace the Bureau Director Yang Mingyi. When his efforts failed, he paid a hitman to use concentrated sulfuric acid to severely injure Yang Mingyi.
– In 1998, Zhang Yongqing, the Deputy Director of the Public Security Bureau in Fushun County, Liaoning Province, was reassigned as the Deputy Director of the Justice Bureau but was dissatisfied with his new role and attacked Ne Zhongli, the Chief of the Justice Bureau, first by injuring him with the help of Liu Zhengping and others, then later he fatally stabbed the County Party Secretary Li Xianying.
– In 1999, Li Changhe, the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee in Pingdingshan City, Henan Province, upon receiving accusations from Lu Jingyi, the former Deputy Director of Bayitai Town in Wugang City, hired Liu Guoxing, an unemployed individual, and Ni Zhihong, a medical parolee, to break into Lu Jingyi’s home and murder both Lu and his wife, resulting in the death of Lu’s wife and severe injury to Lu.
– In 2000, Xue Wenxun, the Director of the Urban Construction Bureau in Hongtong County, Shanxi Province, upset at being “reassigned” as a redundant researcher, harboured resentment towards his successor Zhu Qilin and instructed his driver Duan Xingui to seek vengeance. Duan, along with two others, planted ten boxes of explosives at Zhu Qilin’s residence, resulting in the deaths of Zhu Qilin, his wife, and child.
– On February 5, 2008, Guan Luru, the Director of the Economic and Technological Development Zone Public Security Sub-Bureau in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, entered the Municipal Party Committee Office building with a gun, shot and killed the Deputy Party Secretary Wang Zhiping, and a female cadre in the office before committing suicide. According to mainland’s “Finance” magazine, Guan Luru was driven to kill after failing to sell his official position.
Upon conducting online searches, numerous similar cases were discovered. For instance:
– On January 19, 2023, Yang Gongxun from Pingyang, Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province stabbed to death the village secretary and his entire family.
– On March 27, 2023, Lin Moyang from Putian, Fujian attacked and killed the village secretary’s family causing two deaths and one injury.
– On May 1, 2023, Xu Guoqiang from Hongdao Town, Hongdao Town in Shanxi’s Dingxiang County stabbed the village chief and his family of three to death.
– On May 8, 2023, Liu Jijie, the village secretary of Xili Village in Changqing District, Jinan, along with his family of three, were stabbed to death.
– On May 11, 2023, in Ma Jiagang Village in Donggang, Liaoning, a farmer armed with a butcher’s knife killed the wife of the village secretary and several of his relatives.
– On June 3, 2024, Guo Jianyu, the Chairman of the Political Consultative Conference in Qinxian County, Shanxi, was fatally stabbed by a man.
– On July 9, 2024, Zhan Xiangchun, the Chairman of the Literary Association in Linyi City, Shandong, was stabbed to death by his driver Ma.
– On August 7, 2024, Wang Jiajia, a senior judge at the Handan Bank in Henan, was killed by having his throat cut.
– On August 15, 2024, Zheng Zhiying, the Chairman of the Handan Bank, was murdered in his office.
– On September 2, 2024, in Zone C of the Wanda Wenhua Mansion in Red Flag Street, Changchun, a police officer was brutally murdered, with two other officers being injured.
– On September 19, 2024, Liu Wenjie, the Director of the Finance Department in Hunan, was killed due to a financial dispute of 60 million yuan with Jiang Yihui, a member of the People’s Congress and Political Consultative Conference in Pingjiang, Yueyang.
The frequent cases of officials being killed in China are attributed to several reasons, with each case having unique circumstances. However, from a macro perspective, the following three main reasons can be identified:
1. The Chinese Communist Party has relied on “the barrel of a gun” (military) and “the blade of a knife” (politic and legal system) to maintain high-pressure rule over the people. The continuous 75 years of political oppression by the Chinese Communist Party has accumulated significant public grievances at all levels, resulting in an absence of suitable channels for expressing these grievances. Consequently, some individuals take desperate actions, believing if they are not granted justice, they take it themselves; if they are not allowed to live well, they won’t allow others to live peacefully; if their livelihood is impeded, they retaliate with violence.
2. Since the implementation of the “reform and opening up” policy by the Chinese Communist Party in 1978, a portion of the population has become wealthy, mainly consisting of high-ranking officials and their families. They have monopolized the most profitable occupations, industries, and resources in China through nepotism, corruption, and sexual favors, rapidly amassing wealth. However, they represent a tiny minority among the Chinese population. The wealth gap in China has widened significantly over the years, to the extent that the Chinese Communist Party ceased to publicize the Gini coefficient since 2001.
By present day, China likely presents the widest wealth disparity in the world. Under such extreme inequality, sentiments of resentment and hostility towards the rich and officials are prevalent. Some individuals resort to violence to pursue economic gains, fostering a deep-seated animosity towards officials.
3. The unequal distribution of benefits, economic disputes, property disputes, gains and losses in interest conveyance, among other reasons, contribute to incidents of officials being killed.
Throughout history, Chinese traditional culture emphasizes that human life is precious. Therefore, it is imperative to cherish life dearly.
However, the guiding ideology of the Chinese Communist Party is not rooted in ancient Chinese tradition but rather stems from Western Marxism-Leninism. Marxism-Leninism inherently lacks a sense of reverence for life.
Marxism-Leninism advocates atheism, leading people to disbelieve in the existence of a higher power, past lives, karma, heaven and hell, consequently, certain individuals become fearless, willing to engage in outrageous acts without remorse.
Marxism-Leninism extols a philosophy of struggle, proclaiming “Struggle with heaven knows no bounds, struggle with earth knows no limits, struggle with humans knows no end”. Engaging in human struggle often leads to brutal conflicts and callous violence, resulting in fatalities that occur frequently.
Marxism-Leninism espouses evolution theory and extrapolates from the concept of “survival of the fittest” the idea of “any means to achieve the goal is permissible”. As a consequence, disregarding morals and the law becomes acceptable.
Over the 75 years since the establishment of the Chinese Communist Party, through the continual indoctrination of atheism, internal struggles, and violent control, many individuals have lost their sense of awe, constraint, and accustomed to the prevalence of officials killing citizens, which makes them indifferent to the value of officials’ lives.
In present-day China, this accumulation of contradictions from the Mao Zedong era, Deng Xiaoping era, and Jiang Zemin era has finally reached a tipping point. Various social issues continue to emerge, causing instability among officials, boiling resentment from the public, and an accumulation of deep-rooted animosities.
The reluctance to disclose certain details in the wanted notice mentioned earlier is attributed to the fear of encouraging copycat crimes, leading to a potential surge in killings of officials.
However, the suppressing force exerted by the Chinese Communist Party on the people remains unabated, and the counteracting force will only grow stronger.
I omitted the original publisher’s information as requested.