On the evening of September 20, in Shangzhuang Bridge in Haidian District, Beijing, nine post-90s generation individuals collectively jumped off the bridge. The news was tightly controlled, but Epoch Times has confirmed through multiple channels that the incident did occur, although the specific reasons behind it are still unclear.
On September 21, a mainland netizen leaked to Epoch Times that on the night of September 20, nine post-90s individuals jumped into the river at Shangzhuang Bridge in Beijing. Seven bodies were recovered, while the other two individuals were still missing.
According to a video provided by the source, there were many onlookers at the scene, with police cars and fire trucks on the road. The police set up a cordon at the scene, but citizens were still able to approach the bridge to observe. The video also shows that the police asked onlookers to leave, with police officers and lifeguards in life jackets monitoring the situation on the water.
A Beijing senior media person confirmed to Epoch Times that such an incident did indeed occur, but the specific reasons remain uncertain.
Some bloggers emphasized to journalists that they would not fabricate news for the sake of traffic, as it is unnecessary.
In online posts, some netizens lamented, “In recent years, young people have been committing suicide one after another, something unheard of in this land for thousands of years.”
However, some netizens questioned the value of such actions, stating, “If you are not afraid of death, why not make a mark on history together?”
Others pointed out that 13 people once gathered on a boat and created a world-class company that became highly profitable, contrasting with the fate of the nine individuals who only left ripples on the water’s surface. They argued that if kindness meant enduring hardships without resistance, it might not be worth it.
Some netizens even commented, “At this age, not knowing how to fight back means wasting the air while alive, and wasting the land when dead.” Responding to this, another netizen emphasized, “One should not say that. Reverence for life and compassion for humanity are the starting points of kindness. Moreover, their choice of a clean death is in itself a silent protest against the filth. Let’s hope heaven will no longer be so unbearable!”
Due to the strict control of information by the CCP, very few messages can be released online. Many people on mainland social media are searching for related information, including: the incident of nine post-90s individuals jumping into the river, nine post-90s individuals jumping off Shangzhuang Bridge in Beijing, seven post-90s individuals in Haidian, Beijing, jumping off the bridge, the most recent incident at Shangzhuang Bridge, etc., but the search results show no relevant content.
In recent years, young people across China have been frequently jumping off buildings or into rivers, with the outside world attributing this trend to economic decline, soaring unemployment rates, and the collapse of the real estate market, leaving many young people who took out high-priced mortgages to face layoffs, pay cuts, and the inability to repay their debts, ultimately leading them to choose suicide.
On July 1, the founding day of the CCP, a female employee from Shanghai, a post-90s individual, shocked the internet with her suicide by jumping off a building. A few years ago, she purchased a house in Shanghai for 16 million, with a down payment of 5 million and a loan of 11.77 million. Following this, the housing market sharply declined, wiping out her 5 million down payment. In addition, her company started reducing salaries, cutting her income drastically. After deducting loan repayments, she was left with less than 7,000 for living expenses, and she found out she was pregnant, losing hope for the future and leading to her decision to end her life.
A self-media personality known as “Awei is trying hard” reported on August 9 in a video that another post-90s individual with debt committed suicide by jumping off a bridge, leaving behind their ID and a suicide note. The note read, “The recent years of the pandemic led to the closure of all my stores, leaving me with huge debts and no way out. I receive calls every day from major bank websites offering high-interest loans. Every day, I am bombarded with unending collection calls, as well as debts owed to family and friends. These are all debts of humanity, and my credit is gone.”
The letter also expressed, “I always wanted to save my family, but in the end, I couldn’t. Living every day in agony, seeing no hope.” Finally, he expressed his hopes for his children and apologized to his parents.
The media person disclosed that he himself had debts of over 4 million, but he urged debt-ridden individuals watching to brace themselves, emphasizing that only by staying alive is there hope and the opportunity to turn things around, urging them to persevere.
In May of this year, in Taiyuan alone, over 20 individuals committed suicide by jumping off bridges. For example, on May 10, one person jumped off Nan Zhonghuan Bridge; on May 11, one person jumped off Changfeng Bridge, and another attempted to jump off Yingze Bridge; on May 12, one person jumped off Jinyang Bridge; on May 13, one person jumped off Yingze Bridge; on May 14, one person jumped off Xiangyun Bridge; on May 19, one person jumped off Nan Zhonghuan Bridge, and one off Yingze Bridge; from May 20 to 22, someone jumped off Yingze Bridge daily.
The CCP has tightly blocked relevant information, disabling the comment function on WeChat public accounts and removing review videos on Douyin.
In Nanning, Guangxi, there have been incidents of young individuals jumping off bridges one after another, leading to Chongqing’s Yangtze River Bridge and other locations having to deploy personnel daily to monitor the bridges to prevent further suicides.