Yang Jia, who allegedly killed six police officers in Shanghai, was executed early morning on November 26, according to China’s state run media Xinhua. The regime’s quick action appeared to stun many Chinese bloggers, whose online discussions about the execution have been heavily censored.
Within an hour after the news of the execution was released over 90,000 Chinese bloggers posted comments on China’s famous chat websites, but later most of them were removed, and only about 70 pro-official comments remain.
Following are the few comments supporting Yang that are still viewable online: “Yang Jia is still alive although he is dead.” Another posted, “Yang Jia’s memorial day is also the memorial day of China’s justice system.” “Tyrant’s days are numbered, and the steps of the herald of death can be heard.” “Although Yang Jia has fallen down, there definitely will be hundreds of thousands of Yang Jia who will stand up to claim justice.”
After news of Yang’s execution was released, relatives and neighbors of Yang, his lawyer, reporters, and those who were concerned with Yang’s case went to his mother’s home to express their support.
In an interview with Voice of America, Yang’s father Yang Fusheng said that he only learned about Yang’s execution just now. He said Yang Jia finally earned his dignity for himself.
“This shows that our society is just like this,” Yang Fusheng said. “People have been living a harsh life. We can only say one word, ‘endure.’ Just live on in misery and degradation. Yang Jia simply refuse to live in misery and degradation. He always wanted some explanations. I don’t want to say that Yang Jia was a hero. But I kept thinking that he was a man who has truly maintained his own dignity.”
“I’m not sad now. I only have determination now. I want to ask for an answer for Yang Jia. Remember what Yang Jia said, ‘If you don’t give me an answer, I’ll teach you a lesson.’ Do you know about it? I want to fulfill what Yang Jia did not fulfill.”
Yang Jia’s phrase, “If you don’t give me an answer, I’ll teach you a lesson,” has become Chinese most popular quote recently.
On July 1, Yang allegedly broke into the Shanghai Zhabei district police station, stabbed six police to death and injured another three.
Most Chinese view Yang Jia as a singlehanded hero who resisted China’s most powerful group of people—the police. They praised him as a chivalrous person who was quick with a knife, a cop-killing hero, and so on.
On Sept. 1, Yang Jia was handed the death penalty sentence by the Shanghai Second Intermediate People’s Court. The second trial was held publicly in Shanghai Municipal High People’s Court on Oct. 13. Yang’s father and aunt were present at the court for the hearing.
A huge crowd of petitioners who had been tightly monitored by police for a long time successfully made it to the front of Shanghai High Court to support Yang Jia on Oct. 13. They wore T-shirts with Yang’s phase and shouted, “Long live Yang Jia. Down with the Chinese Communist Party and down with fascist.”
Afterwards, the regime began large-scale arrests.
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