News subscription test @ east asia (11/15)

SINGAPORE: As China mourns its deadliest mass killing in years, Chinese internet censors have been kept busy scrubbing social media sites and search engines, as netizens asked why it took almost 24 hours to release information about the Zhuhai car ramming. 

On Monday (Nov 11), a driver rammed his car into a sports centre in Zhuhai, mowing down people, killing 35 while injuring dozens. The man, later identified as a 62-year-old surnamed Fan, had “forced his way into the city’s sports centre, ramming people who were exercising”, the police said on Tuesday. 

News of the attack broke on Weibo on Monday night and began trending among users, many expressing shock and horror as images and videos of the aftermath circulated widely across the site. 

Dozens of heated comments, critical of “delayed efforts” by local authorities in communicating information from the ground, were seen on several Weibo posts before they were removed within the hour. 

Description of Week in review Newsletter

Sub - Description of Week in Review Newsletter

This service is not intended for persons residing in the E.U. By clicking subscribe, I agree to receive news updates and promotional material from Mediacorp and Mediacorp’s partners.

Loading

Weibo users also took to the accounts of state media outlets, commenting on coverage of a military air show that was also taking place in the city and questioning the lack of coverage about the attack. 

Comments seen by CNA were hidden minutes later, with the comments sections on posts disabled. 

Images showing the extent of the crime scene, blood and bodies lying in the street, were eventually removed on Weibo, although it remains unclear if they were censored due to graphic imagery.

While some comments and posts were still visible as of Friday, statistics showing likes, reshares and other activity were not available, showing error messages instead. 

One user, “cong xiao tian dao da”, on Weibo wrote: “This incident is really being suppressed … nothing showed up when (searching) any words related to Zhuhai on Douyin and Weibo”

Another Weibo user, MagicParty, remarked that the Zhuhai attack may be “downplayed” soon.

“It’s just another incident, everyone can leave now. Search Zhuhai and all that shows is the (Zhuhai) Air Show. If the air show is so important, then how important are those involved in the incident?”

Some accounts quoting eyewitnesses also briefly circulated online before being deleted by censors, reported the South China Morning Post (SCMP). “Luckily it’s Monday, otherwise many minors could have been killed or injured,” one post said. 

Photos published on Wednesday by the Caixin Media outlet showing local residents laying flowers and wreaths outside the sports centre were deleted for unknown reasons, the SCMP report added.