On January 2nd, a high school student in the vocational education center of Pucheng County, Weinan City, Shaanxi Province, mysteriously fell to his death, sparking public outrage amid rumors of bullying being the cause. On January 5th and 6th, tens of thousands of people gathered at the school gate demanding justice, which escalated into intense clashes with law enforcement.
Official reports identified the deceased as Dang, a student in the senior class seven of the school. The incident occurred past 3 am on January 2nd and was deemed an accidental fall from a building, not a criminal case. According to the report, on the night of January 1st, Dang was disturbed by other students chatting and woke up from sleep, leading to a physical altercation between them. After being intervened by a teacher halfway through, Dang returned to his dormitory to rest. However, in the early hours of 3 am, his dormitory mates found the balcony window open with the screen removed and Dang lying outside the window downstairs.
Local student Fang Ming (pseudonym) told a reporter that he saw the news online a couple of days ago and later learned from his friends at the school that Dang was beaten by seven students, indicating a case of bullying. He went to the school to voice support for the family and demand justice.
Fang Ming spent both January 5th and 6th at the school gate with thousands of other people. He mentioned that on the evening of the 5th, around 30,000 people gathered with over 100 policemen present, and there were no clashes. However, on the 6th, conflicts started escalating. Through various sources, it was reported that the number of protesters was no less than 10,000.
He recounted that on the morning of the 6th, the angered crowd broke open the school gates, leading to two deputy principals being hospitalized after being assaulted. Subsequently, protesters entered the campus, vandalizing the cafeteria and office facilities. They blocked the ambulance to prevent the deputy principals from leaving, with some police officers getting injured.
Fang Ming also revealed that police officers used shields to fend off rocks thrown by the protesters, but eventually, someone sprayed a fire extinguisher to force the officers to retreat.
Another eyewitness at the scene described the chaos involving tens of thousands of participants, many students being attacked, intensifying public outrage.
Li Mei, a graduate from the school two years ago, also joined the gathering at the school gate on the evening of the 6th. She noted that after the clashes between the police and the public erupted, the crowd didn’t disperse during the day. Police officers stood with shields on the road at the school gate, gradually pushing the crowd back.
“There are quite a few police officers. The crowd has now been pushed back. After the police started hitting people today, fewer people came, and several students were beaten, which scared everyone.”
Li Mei disclosed that the students protesting at the school were receiving support from students from other schools as the school’s own students had gone home. She acknowledged the existence of bullying at the school, having been a victim herself during her sophomore year, though not physically harmed.
Currently, the school surroundings have been cordoned off by the police.
Despite the family’s ongoing quest for answers, the school authorities claim surveillance was damaged, contradicting the police’s statement of having checked the footage. Subsequently, the child’s uncle was also taken away by the authorities. The family expressed frustration as they were restricted from taking photos to inspect any injuries on the child’s body while all mobile phones and watches of the informants were confiscated by the school, deleting all photos. The incident spread and escalated through online dissemination, eventually evolving into a large-scale collective event.
However, these claims have yet to be substantiated.
Information shows that the vocational education center in Pucheng County, Weinan City, Shaanxi Province, is a nationally recognized vocational education center spanning an area of 100 acres, with a building area of 37,000 square meters. It currently has 204 staff members, 2300 students, and 40 teaching classes.