Chinese government censors outrage and shuts down memorial after car ramming attack

Authorities in China cleared a memorial and scrambled to censor internet outrage over the deadliest mass killing in the country in a decade.

At least 35 people were killed and 43 injured when a man rammed his car into people exercising at a sports centre in the southern city of Zhuhai.

Police arrested the 62-year-old suspect, who reportedly tried to speed off after driving through a barrier of the sports centre, on Monday.

A preliminary investigation indicated the suspect, identified by his surname Fan, was dissatisfied with the split of financial assets in his divorce. He was being treated for wounds thought to be self-inflicted.

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People placed wreaths, flowers and bottles of Chinese alcohol near the sports centre on Tuesday night before the memorial was cleared by the authorities.

Beijing has also been criticised for trying to censor details of the incident on social media, allegedly taking down posts on Weibo and limiting reporting on the attack.

State broadcaster CCTV chose to not mention the attack in its 30-minute midday news bulletin and led the programme with president Xi Jinping’s departure for the APEC summit in Peru.

Other state media, such as China Daily, also prominently displayed the news of Mr Xi’s Peru trip. The current affairs part of the newspaper’s website and the local area page did not mention the incident either.

Posts on social media complaining about the “government's slow response” and questions about the mental health of a nation shaken by a recent spate of similar killings were quickly removed. The government is also facing backlash for taking over 24 hours to release the death toll after initially stating the number of injured to be 20.

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Rose Luqiu, who researches Chinese censorship at Hong Kong’s Baptist University, told Reuters the information that was curtailed in Zhuhai was consistent with other incidents in China that involved high number of deaths.

“The censorship is normal because all these incidents are censored to try to control the narrative. The police statement will be the only official explanation, and they won’t allow people to challenge or to discuss it,” she said.

Despite the efforts to clear the site in Zhuhai, located about 2261km south of the capital Beijing, delivery drivers on motor-bikes kept dropping off fresh flowers on Wednesday morning. The authorities have erected temporary barriers around the makeshift vigil area, deployed security personnel and prohibited media persons from entering.

"The authorities hadn't released any information – some colleagues mentioned it and I couldn't believe it at first, but it was confirmed later," a 50-year-old man who identified himself as Zheng, told Reuters.

Some wreaths carried handwritten notes: "Strangers travel well. May there be no demons in heaven." One read: "May there be no thugs in heaven. Good will triumph over evil. Rest in peace."

The Chinese foreign ministry said no foreign nationals were killed in the car attack. “The Chinese government has been and will continue to take effective measures to ensure people’s lives and social stability,” ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Wednesday.

Videos from the incident showed a firefighter performing CPR on a person, as people were told to leave the scene. Other videos shared on X by blogger and dissident Li Ying, who is better known as Teacher Li, showed injured people scattered on the road in a pool of blood.

In one, a woman says “My foot is broken.”

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Most of the injured people were wearing the same clothes and were reportedly part of a group of middle-aged and elderly people exercising on the track.

Hundreds of rescue personnel were deployed to provide emergency treatment, and more than 300 healthcare workers from five hospitals worked around the clock to save lives, state media Beijing Daily reported.

An eyewitness told Caixin Global that the car "drove in a loop". "People were hurt in all areas of the running track — east, south, west, and north.”

The Chinese president in a statement said: "All localities and relevant departments should make effort to ensure the safety of people’s lives and social stability".

Premier Li Qiang urged "coordinated risk prevention and control efforts to ensure social stability", the state media reported.

While there was no indication that the attack was related to the airshow, it was the second such incident to occur during the Zhuhai airshow.

In 2008, at least four people were killed and 20 injured when a man drove a truck into a crowded schoolyard during the airshow. Police said that the attacker had been seeking revenge over a traffic dispute.

Violent crime is rare in China due to tight security and strict gun laws. However, a rise in reports of knife attacks in large cities has drawn public attention to safety in public spaces.

Tuesday’s death toll is the highest since assailants wielding knives killed 29 people at a train station in the southwestern city of Kunming in March 2014.