China media searches for reasons behind a rash of violence
Strong-arm tactics by officials seen as one reason why people are turning to violence as the first rather than the last resort
A mother, pushing a shopping cart with her daughter asleep inside, unknowingly blocks a car from parking in Beijing. One of the two men inside gets out, seizes the girl, and throws her violently to the ground, killing her.
A man in Heilongjiang sets fire to the nursing home where he was a resident, suspecting someone had stolen 200 yuan (HK$250) from him. He dies, along with 10 others, in the ensuing blaze.
News reports of violent attacks, involving both ordinary people and civil servants, have appeared with unusual frequency over the past weeks. Newspapers have responded with commentaries asking why people appear to erupt with such vehemence, even over trivial matters.
The People's Daily said moods could turn easily and resorting to violence was becoming the first choice, rather than the last. The newspaper said many people claimed to have an "inferiority syndrome". "A sense of inferiority leads to poor self-respect, which makes those people easily offended," it reported.
The People's Daily also warned of a "very dangerous sentiment" that led some people to take revenge on innocent people for unfair treatment they themselves had received at the hands of someone else. They pointed to a handicapped man who set off a home-made bomb at the Beijing Capital International Airport last month, injuring only himself. He said he was left disabled after a beating by police and wanted to publicise his case. Some people, well acquainted with police excess, applauded the man. But the People's Daily warned: "By exchanging violence for violence, one will never achieve true equality and justice. And those who applaud may also become victims of violence."