A deadly knife attack on a school bus carrying Japanese children near Shanghai last month has prompted debate on whether a surge in such attacks may have been caused by “escalating anti-Japanese rhetoric on state media,” according to a report by the Financial Times, which said it led to internet platforms banning hate speech against Japan, plus a warning by the Japanese consulate in the city for people to be “very mindful of your surroundings when you go out.”
But while China has one of the world’s lowest rates of homicide, the drama was the latest in a series of violent incidents that analysts said hinted at “rising social tensions”, according to the report, and that videos of stabbings “have gone viral on social media despite official censorship, feeding speculation that social hardship [from the country’s economic slump] is fuelling rising discontent.”
Read the full report. The FT.
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