Auto accidents resulting in injury and death are typically considered accidents in most countries, but not in China, according to experts’ analysis of recent incidents. Over the past 20 days, seven accidents involving cars plowing into people have caused over eighty traffic fatalities, with some of the accidents seeming to be deliberate acts. This has prompted commentators to speculate on whether cars are becoming a new type of “weapon” for people to retaliate against society. They believe that the prevalent hostility in Chinese society is an inevitable result of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) authoritarian rule and oppression.
On March 19, multiple injuries and fatalities occurred. On three occasions, vehicles appeared to have intentionally plowed into pedestrians in Shenyang, Liaoning Province; Taizhou, Zhejiang Province; and Beijing.
The road rage began at 6:00 a.m., when a black sedan lost control in the urban area of Shenyang, crashing into pedestrians on the opposite sidewalk, causing four hospitalizations and one fatality. Two of those hospitalized later died from their injuries.
Online videos showed the black sedan parked by the roadside when a white vehicle careened into it from the rear. Rather than exit their vehicles to inspect the damage, both drivers immediately left the scene, with the black car in front and the white car following closely behind. About 40 seconds later, the black vehicle returned and plowed into a group of pedestrians standing at a bus stop. The police reported they had detained the 26-year-old driver, and the cause of the accident is still under investigation.
Later that morning, another vehicle suspected of intentionally hitting pedestrians occurred at a college campus in Taizhou.
Online videos showed nearly ten students lying on the ground after being hit, paramedics attending to multiple victims unresponsive on the ground inside the Taizhou Vocational and Technical College. According to police, the driver, a young college student, was under investigation for injuring 19, including three fatalities.
Another suspicious accident occurred at an intersection in the Dongcheng District of Beijing that evening. Police reported that a 21-year-old driver was responsible for causing one fatality and injuring 17, of which 13 were hospitalized. Online videos showed the driver in a black vehicle suddenly plowing into the non-private car lane, hitting e-bike riders and walkers, leaving the scene bloody and chaotic. In the video, the driver did not appear remorseful and was arguing with bystanders.
The police confirmed the cause of the accident was identified as a “hit-and-run” and improper operation of a vehicle and that drugs and alcohol were not the cause.
Suspicious Auto Accidents Mount Across China
Additional road rage incidents reported by the police occurred on March 1, 8, 12, and 16, sending shockwaves across China.On March 1, outside the Third Experimental Elementary School in Dezhou City, Shandong Province, a black vehicle plowed into a crowd of children, injuring more than a dozen. The police did not disclose the results of their investigation, only to say there were two fatalities and six hospitalizations. Rumors suggested the driver was intoxicated and had ingested pesticides in retaliation against society.
On March 8 in Changsha, Hunan Province, a BMW was said to have hit pedestrians, but videos of the incident were blocked from circulation in China. The casualties were unknown, and the police did not make any announcements.
Although censored in China, videos of the incident circulated overseas showing a group of children crossing a pedestrian crossing on the road in Changsha. Passing vehicles slowed down and stopped, waiting for the children to cross. Suddenly, a white BMW rushed onto the scene without slowing down and hit the students crossing the road. Some students ran away quickly, but two students were knocked down. One student lay on the road and couldn’t get up, while the other was thrown several meters away.
In the video, the driver, a middle-aged woman, was stopped, and her emotions were out of control. She shouted at the traffic police, “I’ve been mind-controlled by someone else. I’ve been mind-controlled.” A bystander nearby angrily said, “What were you mind-controlled to do? Drive even when you’re being mind-controlled!”
Chat records circulated online suggested the woman’s husband worked at the Tobacco Bureau and had an affair. She went to the bureau to report her husband’s affair, but the officials defended her husband, causing her to lose emotional control. After consuming alcohol, she allegedly retaliated against society.
On March 12, traffic police from Guangzhou, Guangdong province, reported that a vehicle had collided with electric bikes and pedestrians on two streets, injuring 11. The report did not specify whether the injuries were minor or severe, and the final report had not yet been released. Online rumors suggested the driver was in a ride-hailing car that attacked the police first and then pedestrians from Nongjiao to Weifu Road.
Another video began circulated online of a vehicle plowing into pedestrians in Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province. According to the police, the incident occurred on the afternoon of March 16. The video showed a blue sports car crashing into the curb and hitting a tree. Nearby, a delivery person in a yellow uniform was convulsing on the ground, with a pool of blood underneath him, and two women in white clothes were lying nearby. The caption stated, “Several people were knocked down at the entrance of Rongjun Hospital in Jiaxing.”
Lai Jianping, a former Beijing lawyer and chairman of the Democratic China Front in Canada, spoke with The Epoch Times about driver hostility in China under the CCP’s authoritarian rule and oppression.
Mr. Lai suggested that China’s economic crises have left members of society unable to enjoy a normal life. Plus, citizens in authoritarian societies may face various suppressions without being able to defend their legitimate rights and interests. Furthermore, private disputes among citizens lead to the infringement of people’s rights, but the authorities take no action. He believed that “these reasons may have caused widespread discontent and grievances in Chinese society.”
“Regardless of the reasons, even if it’s a private dispute, the government should be held responsible because modern society is not a jungle law. People pay taxes to the government, which has a specific responsibility to regulate disputes between individuals and uphold justice. However, the government has failed in this responsibility, so the root cause lies with the government,” stated Mr. Lai.
Mr. Lai condemned the use of vehicles as a weapon, stating, “These cowards should have vented their anger at the government, but instead of doing so, they dug their claws into the grassroots people who are similarly powerless, including innocent elementary school, middle school students, and vulnerable groups. This is a violent act with a terrorist nature, a very evil practice.”
Mr. Lai concluded by suggesting China’s drivers are retaliating against society when they should be launching a revolution against the CCP’s authoritarian regime. Directing their anger and violence against their fellow helpless citizens accomplishes nothing. “I condemn this behavior as immoral. Blame should be placed on the CCP’s dictatorial regime.”
The Epoch Times could not independently verify the videos of the accidents.
