Death penalty for Chinese knife attacker who stabbed mother and child

Death penalty for Chinese knife attacker who stabbed mother and child

A Chinese man in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou in June 2023 Knife attack on a Japanese woman and her child, killing a bus driver who was trying to protect them, was sentenced to death. This was confirmed by a Japanese government official.

Details about the case

A Suzhou court found that the 52-year-old unemployed man, surnamed Zhou, carried out the attacks because he had accumulated debts and lost interest in life. Japanese Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Thursday that the Japanese consul in Shanghai was present at the verdict, but further details about the verdict were not immediately released.

Japan's reaction to the verdict

“The Japanese government considers the killing and wounding of three people, including a completely innocent child, to be unforgivable and takes the verdict extremely seriously,” Hayashi continued. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mao Ning, would not confirm the verdict, saying only that "Chinese judicial authorities will handle the case in accordance with the law."

Background of the attacks

The knife attack was one of two incidents last year that raised concerns about anti-Japan sentiment in China and prompted Tokyo to call on Beijing to ensure the safety of its citizens. Knife attacks are not uncommon in China because firearms are heavily regulated.

In recent months there have been several sudden outbreaks of violence targeting innocent citizens, including near hospitals and schools. The attack occurred on June 24 when the Japanese mother picked up her child at a bus stop near a Japanese school. During the attack, the mother and child suffered non-life-threatening injuries, but a Chinese bus attendant who tried to stop the attacker later died from her injuries.

Prejudices and national tensions

Hayashi on Thursday renewed calls for the Chinese government to protect Japanese citizens in China. However, the Suzhou court ruling did not mention Japan. Nationalism, xenophobia and anti-Japan sentiments have been rising in the country, often fueled by state media and conversations on China's heavily censored social media.

This sentiment is deeply rooted in the bitter memories of the Japanese invasion and brutal occupation in the 1930s and 1940s, as well as today's territorial disputes. A 10-year-old arrived in September last year Japanese schoolboy killed in another knife attack in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. The trial in the case was scheduled to begin on Friday, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported.

Reactions to the incidents

The second attack occurred on the anniversary of the 1931 "918" incident, when Japanese soldiers blew up a Japanese-operated railway in northeastern China and blamed Chinese forces for the attack to create a pretext for the invasion. The two attacks raised concern among Japanese living in China, leading then-Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to demand: "Such an incident must never be repeated." Still, China's Foreign Ministry described the attacks as "isolated incidents" and said measures were being taken to ensure the safety of foreign nationals in the country.

"China will continue to take measures to protect the safety of foreign citizens in China," Mao said on Thursday.