On April 25th, a horrific incident of four teenagers beating and stabbing another teenager occurred in Taishan District, Taian City, Shandong Province. The authorities have tightly sealed off information about the incident, and the video released by the victim’s parents was deleted, with their account also being suspended. This incident has sparked outrage among many online live streamers, demanding harsh punishment for the perpetrators.
According to a mainland Chinese citizen named Li Ming who disclosed the information to the media, the bloody incident took place in broad daylight on April 25th. Four underage individuals from Xintai, Taian City, used sticks to beat and a kitchen knife to stab a sixteen or seventeen-year-old minor. The official control of information is strict, and not many locals are aware of the incident. Li Ming only found out about it recently. He mentioned that his family members have multiple videos from the scene but are too afraid to share them.
In the videos, the perpetrators were seen arrogantly shouting while attacking, declaring, “My destination is the police station, yours is the emergency center,” after which they celebrated the violent act together, seemingly enjoying the brutality.
Li Ming further stated that the victim’s family lacks power and influence, and the current condition of the victim remains unknown. It is said that the attack was random, as the victim did not know the perpetrators, and the reason for the assault was that they found someone “unpleasant” on the street. The perpetrators appeared to be working as a group.
From the footage obtained so far, the four perpetrators were extremely brutal, not only assaulting the victim with punches and kicks but one of them also went to a distance to grab a long knife and stabbed the victim several times. Additionally, at least two of the attackers continued to violently kick the victim who was lying motionless on the ground.
According to informed netizens, the victim is currently in critical condition in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU), with severe injuries that necessitate the use of life-support machines. The victim’s sister released a video, and many people donated money to support her.
As of now, the video footage of the incident is scarce on the internet, and there is no report from official Chinese media. However, many live streamers on mainland social platforms are speaking out in support of the victim’s parents, condemning the attackers, while numerous netizens are offering their solidarity and posing questions in the comment sections.
On April 28th, a financial professional in Taian who is a live streamer named Xiao Zhang expressed his dissatisfaction in a video, stating, “The videos released by the victim’s parents have all been taken down, and their accounts have been shut down directly. It’s problematic to deal with the people who reveal the issues first!”
He also noted that many live streamers in Taian are voicing their opinions on this matter because such incidents cannot be allowed to continue without consequences, as parents with children fear encountering such situations. “These four children cannot escape punishment; we hope for a severe sentence. Nowadays, bullying, fighting, and violence have become too common, with young people resorting to using knives impulsively.”
In a video post, a media influencer from Jiangsu province named “Maichao Media” expressed support for the victim’s parents, mentioning that the videos they shared had disappeared, but garnered fifty thousand likes, equivalent to over ten million views. He called for more live streamers to speak up on this issue.
Many netizens commented in the discussion forums: “Douyin (Chinese version of TikTok) is a thug software.” “Silence is equal to committing a crime! Blocking the victims is the same as being an offender.” “Is this harmony in society achieved in this manner?”
Li Ming pointed out that there have been too many cases of brutal murders involving underage individuals in China in recent years. He often sees police cars patrolling the streets in Taian City every day, but it seems that it has not been effective in maintaining public security.
Recently, two incidents of stabbings occurred in Fujian and Liaoning provinces, resulting in at least five deaths and three injuries. The relevant information was promptly blocked by the Chinese authorities.
On April 18th, at Fujian Polytechnic Institute, two students had a dispute during a game called “Da Wa,” leading to one of them using a knife to attack the other, followed by the perpetrator subsequently jumping from a building to his death. Around 2 a.m. on April 23rd, a power supply major student at Liaoning Vocational College of Railway sliced three dormitory mates to death and injured three others. Some reports claimed four deaths and two severe injuries.