Results tagged “violence”

These days it seems like violence on TV should be the least of a parent's worries - rather the threat is allegedly much greater online. According to Shanghai Daily, Zun Long Ming She, translated as 'Dragon Society', is one of a growing number of online communities that are encouraging or inciting Chinese youths to commit crimes and dole out violence. Formed in June 2008, Dragon Society has recruited 169 members, consisting of “local natives who lacked a caring family and children of migrant workers.” Like any online social networking site, members of Dragon Society were able to share pictures and information, “showing off their tattoos and knives and organizing robberies and attacks” just as a group of Facebook friends would tag each others pics and drum up interest in club parties. The government began cracking down on them after a boy in Luwan District was beaten and stabbed by five other boys, allegedly ordered to do so by one of the site's leaders. Since then, the victim has helped the police to identify members of Dragon Society as well as provide more information on the functions of similar websites. Photo from aranarth@flickr.com

Looks like the saga of syringe attacks in Xinjiang is far from over. Police detained another 75 people after a number of new syringe attacks, just days after three Uighers were sentenced for previous attacks. The recent attacks have spread out of Urumqi and around Xinjiang, with reports of stabbing from Kashgar to Turpan. Worse, the deputy head of police in Urumqi said that two detainees admitted their aim was to "undermine ethnic unity in Xinjiang and to create ethnic hatred". We worry about the ramifications this will have for racial tensions that are already boiling in Xinjiang.

Rumors that the syringe attackers in Xinjiang were Uyghurs bent on giving AIDS to Hans sparked a thousands strong protest yesterday. Witnesses described chanting crowds marching with Chinese flags, shouts of "Wang Lequan (regional secretary of Xinjiang) step down!" and at least one Uyghur being beaten up by a crowd while paramilitary police officers watched, according to the New York Times. Officials were loath to discuss the protests, telling the Times "You guys should not be so eager competing for the news. Just wait one day until the official news comes out." Well, we guess that's what you get asking for a political opinion here.

It amazes us that China can somehow manage to realize our worst fears, even the most illogical ones. Needless to say, we cringed for about five minutes after reading a report from China Daily stating that fifteen people in Xinjiang were seized after attacking people with syringes. AAH! Members of nine different ethnic groups reported stabbing incidents to the police, which is a good sign, as it doesn't seem related to the ethnic violence that raged through Xinjiang last month. But the article is interestingly silent on the ethnicity of the syringe attackers, which can only make us more curious and more worried about how they went about detaining people. Luckily, none of the victims have been infected or poisoned so far, but just the thought of such a horrid experience leaves us with chills.

The mother of a 4-year-old girl who died in Shanghai No. 5 People's Hospital after suffering severe beatings was charged with child abuse yesterday. The girl was taken to hospital by her stepfather on Januray the 8, but had already died once they got there. Hospital staff noticed several cuts and bruises on her body.

According to the following report, a panda has mauled a man at the Beijing zoo. The cause for the violent outburst appears to be stupidity: a man was trying to recover a toy his child dropped in the bear cage. Though there are many that think it's silly to give a child your seat on the subway, jumping into a bear cage has to be considered a major victory for the xiao huangdi camp.

Last Thursday, an irate passenger stole the taxi he had been riding in after having to wait in a blocked street. According to the Shanghai Daily, the man, surnamed Wang lost his temper when a truck blocked the traffic of Wanping Lu in Xuhui District. After arguing with the truck driver he "broke off the taxi's rear-view mirror and hit himself over the head with it", and then proceeded to smash the taxi's meter. Subsequently Wang injured the taxi driver, managed to take his keys and drove off. Wang was soon detained and the taxi later found abandoned.

This time security guards were stabbed to death outside of Kashgar in Xinjiang. [Source]

Early this morning in southern Xinjiang's Kuqa County police killed five men who had allegedly thrown homemade bombs at a police station in a drive-by attack. Two police cars were destroyed and two policemen were apparently wounded (initial reports said they had been killed). Less than a week ago, 16 policemen were reportedly killed in another attack in Xinjiang. [Source]

The latest from ESPN.com here and here. And the latest from Google News.

Five people were injured yesterday evening when a man turned violent and started stabbing customers in a food store at Nanjing Road's Pedestrian Mall. The man has been identified as a local of Anhui province, surnamed Zhang. According to the Shanghai Daily, Zhang has a history of mental illness. Fortunately, none of the five who were stabbed received life threatening injuries. When the incident happened, Zhang had brought out his kitchen knife and tried to use it to open a package of food he had bought. He turned violent when the store's security guards tried to stop him. Pictures and report (in Chinese)

Way back in 1925, during the heyday of foreign imperialism in Shanghai, discontent was fomenting among the local populace over what were generally considered to be unfair privileges granted to foreigners and Chinese exclusion from the governing Shanghai Municipal Council. The deals the foreign powers had struck up with Manchu officials in the 19th century, suspect from the beginning, had little official legitimacy after the fall of the Qing more than ten years earlier. Tensions reached a boiling point when labor protests at a Japanese factory resulted in an assault and the death of a Chinese employee on May 15th.

Following last week's expulsion of 20 Hong Kong journalists from Lhasa that was roundly criticised by the Hong Kong Journalists Association, the Foreign Correspondents Club of China has issued an updated call for China to grant reporters unhindered access to Tibetan areas:

"Reporting interference is not in the interest of the Chinese government which is trying to show a more open, transparent and accountable image to the world," said FCCC President Melinda Liu."

Continue reading "Tibet Update: Press freedom, Nancy Pelosi and an ensuing PR battle"