In mainland China this year, there have been a series of incidents involving foreigners being attacked. The most recent one occurred on September 18th in Shenzhen, where a 10-year-old Japanese boy was stabbed to death. Analysts believe that this is related to the anti-Japanese brainwashing education propagated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which distorts the true history of the resistance against Japan. Some economists have expressed concerns that the ongoing attacks on foreigners may lead to foreign companies withdrawing from China, dealing a devastating blow to the country’s economic development.
On the morning of September 18th, a 10-year-old Japanese boy from a Japanese school in Shenzhen was attacked with a knife by a 44-year-old Chinese man on his way to school. The Japanese Consul General in Guangzhou, Yoshiko Kijima, confirmed on the morning of the 19th that the boy had succumbed to his injuries in the early hours of the 19th. Witnesses reported that the boy had been stabbed multiple times in the abdomen and thighs, with his intestines exposed.
The website of the Japanese school in Shenzhen indicated that as of April this year, the school had 273 students with many Japanese residents in the surrounding community. According to data from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are around 3,600 Japanese residents in Shenzhen.
The incident on September 18th coincided with the 93rd anniversary of the “September 18 Incident” in 1931, a historical event believed to have fueled anti-Japanese sentiments due to various commemorative activities surrounding it. The “September 18 Incident” refers to the events on September 18, 1931, when the Japanese Kwantung Army staged the “Mukden Incident” and subsequently invaded China.
Historian Li Yuanhua commented that while the attack may be related to the date, regardless of the significance, such acts of violence should be condemned. He attributed the incident to the CCP’s long-standing anti-Japanese education, using it as a means to divert internal conflicts.
Li Yuanhua highlighted that the CCP’s animosity towards Japan and the United States is inherent in its nature, viewing any obstacles to its growth as enemies. He emphasized that the CCP’s ambition to dominate the world fuels its fear of developed Western nations like Japan, leading to demonization and fostering national hatred, while conveniently ignoring any positive contributions these countries have made to China.
He pointed out that Japan had provided significant aid to China since the late 1970s, aiming to foster neighborly relations through assistance and reconciliation gestures, which the CCP conveniently omits in its narratives. The glorification of anti-Japanese sentiments through distorted historical dramas misleads the population about the true nature of the resistance against Japan.
Following the attack on the Japanese boy in Shenzhen, which sparked alarm among Japanese enterprises in China, concerns were raised over the safety of Japanese citizens in the country. Similar incidents in June, including the fatal stabbing of Chinese stewardess Hu Youping, had already strained relations and raised fears among the Japanese community in China.
David Huang, an American economist, warned of the implications of the consecutive attacks on foreigners in China. Not limited to Japanese nationals, but also affecting Americans, these incidents raise serious security concerns for foreigners residing in China. Huang expressed apprehension that if these issues are not addressed seriously by the relevant authorities, it could lead to a decline in foreign investments and a negative impact on China’s economy.
Huang stressed the significant role of foreign investments in China, beyond capital, as they bring in technological advancements, new orders, and management expertise. He warned that a decrease or halt in foreign investments could have devastating consequences for China’s economic development, affecting exports and its ability to access advanced technologies and talent globally in the coming years.