Attacks on Foreigners in China: Isolated Incidents or Systematic Shift of National Strategy? 

On Monday, June 24, a school bus was attacked in Suzhou, China while bringing home children from a nearby Japanese school. It led to one death and two injuries. Hu Youping, a bus crew member, is the one who stopped the knife-wielding attacker. 

Unfortunately, Hu later died from wounds she received while protecting the children. Had it not been for her heroic sacrifice, it is hard to imagine what would have happened to the 50-plus Japanese children on the bus.

The Suzhou murder is the second attack on foreigners in China in two weeks. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claimed that both incidents were "isolated", and that China is still the safest country in the world.

However, if we look at the social and online environment in which the two attacks happened, we might arrive at a different conclusion. These attacks are part of a much larger pattern. The CCP's long history of inciting and encouraging hatred of the United States and Japan is part of an aggressive shift in its national strategy.

CCP Downplays Hu Youping's Death and Its Own Connection with Suzhou Attack

After the tragic death of 55-year-old Hu Youping, the Chinese woman who was trying to stop the murderer in the attack on the Japanese school bus, the Japanese Embassy in China lowered its flag at half-mast in her honor. But the CCP's reaction was the opposite. Eventually, the CCP reluctantly announced that Hu would be posthumously awarded the title of "Suzhou City Courageous Role Model." However, it didn't allow people to go to the bus stop where Hu died to mourn her. 

In addition, the official announcement from the Suzhou Public Security Bureau only states the following. "[Hu] found someone armed with a knife at a bus stop and immediately rushed forward to stop him, but was stabbed several times by the suspect, and unfortunately passed away, despite efforts to save her."

There is no mention of the fact that she was trying to protect a Japanese school bus and Japanese children.

Obviously, the CCP wants to keep a low profile in dealing with the attack on Japanese in China. The CCP has another aim as well. That is to appeal to the anti-Japan sentiment incited and encouraged by government officials in Chinese society.

Shock Phone Call Praising School Bus Attacker

How far has the CCP's brainwashing gone?

A shocking audio recording of a phone call made by a Chinese woman to the Suzhou Public Security Bureau may give us some idea. That is where the assailant is being held. 

In the phone call, the woman refers to Hu's murderer as a "hero" and demands his release. The caller says that killing a Japanese person is as normal as killing a beast or slaughtering a chicken at home. She even refers to Hu Youping as a "beast" as she stopped "Hero Zhou" from killing other Japanese "beasts." ("Zhou" is the surname of Hu's murderer.) 

There were also rumors that more than 400 Chinese people had gathered in front of the Suzhou High-Tech Public Security Bureau. They were there to demand the release of Zhou, who is being held there.

Attacker's Background and Motivation Not Announced

The police claimed that the man who attacked a school bus full of children and murdered Hu Youping was a 52-year-old jobless man. As depicted by the police, he had recently moved to Suzhou.

I found this very suspicious. How could someone who just moved to Suzhou find out so quickly and accurately when and where that Japanese school bus would stop? He didn't vigorously attack the Japanese mother and her child who were not on the school bus, although he did wound them in the attack. 

The murderer did, however, desperately attack Hu Youping when she tried to prevent him from boarding the school bus. This indicates that his goal was to board the bus and go on a killing spree. His real target must not have been the two people injured at the bus stop or Hu, but the children on the bus.

Why haven't CCP officials released the motive of this crime?

Hatred On Display

A large volume of comments from Chinese netizens after the incident reflects the same hatred as the woman who made the shocking phone call.

Many online commenters said that the murderer had done a good job and praised him as a hero. Meanwhile, others said that the Japanese had staged the incident themselves. 

Some expressed dissatisfaction with the presence of a Japanese settlement in Suzhou. Others praised the murderer and mentioned that "national shame" ー a constant theme of CCP propaganda ー must not be forgotten.

Someone even threatened that if the Japanese don't close down their schools in China, this kind of thing will happen again.

Surveillance of Shanghai Japanese School

After the Suzhou attack, some netizens discovered a disturbing fact. Someone on the Chinese social media platform Douyin had posted numerous videos of his long-term surveillance of the Shanghai Japanese School. And the netizens found it. This person claimed to be the "Number One Civilian to Resist Japan and Eliminate Traitors."

Violent Video Trends on Chinese Social Media

Before the Suzhou case, there were all kinds of videos (watch video 1, video 2, video 3, video 4) of brutal beatings of Japanese on Chinese social media. These videos were extremely hateful. They portrayed beating Japanese as righteous and honorable.

There was also a Chinese threat to take up arms against Americans over US "meddling" in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Another recent video shows someone claiming to be a Chinese veteran questioning an American on the street. The Chinese man asks why the United States was messing up Hong Kong and interfering in Taiwan affairs. 

The American didn't respond. Instead, he got into his car and drove off. But the Chinese veteran was still yelling after him. "Do you want me to pick up my gun again and shoot you Americans? Shoot you like we did in the Korean War?"

Hatred of Japan Accelerates

From all indications that we can observe in Chinese society, the two incidents of attacks on foreigners were by no means isolated. Rather, the attacks appear to have been the result of the CCP's long-standing anti-American and anti-Japanese propaganda. This propaganda has led to the formation of the so-called spontaneous "Resist Japan and Eliminate Traitors" groups among the Chinese people.

Two years ago, also in Suzhou, a Chinese woman was wearing a Japanese kimono and walking on the street. She was stopped and then taken to the police station for questioning. She was accused of "provoking trouble" only because she was wearing a Japanese kimono. 

In March 2024, a Chinese company producing mineral water, "Nongfu Spring", was subjected to a wide-scale boycott. Its market value shrank by more than $3.83 billion USD in just a few days. The reason for the boycott? The so-called Japanese elements in the style of Nongfu Spring's product design and packaging.

Xi Jinping, 'The Accelerant'

On June 1, 2024, China's famous internet celebrity "Iron Head Punishes Evil and Promotes Good, "made a special trip to Japan. His real name is Dong Guangming. His purpose was to urinate on the stone pillar of Japan's Yasukuni Shrine. Dong then wrote the word "Toilet" (in English) in red paint on the pillar he had desecrated.

It took almost two years to go from police arresting a girl who wore a kimono to a Chinese internet star filming an insulting video at Yasukuni Shrine.

But it only took a little more than three weeks since that Chinese internet star went to Japan to shoot that insulting video for the attack on the Japanese school bus to happen.

Xi Jinping has a nickname, "accelerant". It seems that under his rule, anti-Japan sentiment and events are also accelerating at a rapid pace.

And under Xi, the CCP offers no apology or truth when foreigners are attacked. After the two most recent attacks on foreigners, the CCP has not even apologized to the injured foreign nationals. Furthermore, the CCP hasn't given an account to the victims or to the consulates of their countries, Not about the circumstances or motives of the perpetrators, at least. It has even intentionally covered up the truth about the attacks.

Strategy Change: China's Version of Decoupling

Why does the CCP want to create such a widespread social atmosphere of hatred against Japan and the United States in particular, and hatred against the West in general?

Some commentators believe that this is a demonstration of preparation for war in the Taiwan Strait or the South China Sea. These commentators see the coming wars as attempts to divert domestic attention from China's internal problems.

I wonder if people have noticed this. China's national strategy under Xi Jinping has, indeed, changed dramatically in recent years. The CCP once focused on economic development. This development relied on the international market. The current model, by contrast, focuses on the domestic market, or the so-called "internal cycle".

Many in Japan and the West have spoken of "decoupling" from China. Have people noticed, however, that Xi Jinping is doing a great deal of decoupling of his own?

This change is not only about economic policy. It could also be a systematic and organized approach to preparing for an all-out war.

Nationalism has always been an important tool for dictators to deal with internal and external pressures. By fomenting nationalist sentiments, those in power can rally the people to divert public discontent from problems in the Chinese economy. 

The rapid spread of anti-American and anti-Japan rhetoric in China in recent years is a reflection of China's official strategy. That is one of channeling and exploiting nationalist sentiments.

Systematic and Organized Approach

Experts within the CCP system emphasize the process of strategic transformation. China needs strong public opinion guidance and mobilization to ensure smooth policy implementation and social stability.

By adjusting the narratives of media propaganda and amplifying the voices of anti-American and anti-Japanese, a favorable social atmosphere for the inner-circle development strategy can be created.

In other words, by inciting nationalist sentiments and inflaming the public to hate the US and Japan, the CCP is redefining the past economic cooperation relationships as hostile relationships.

This tactic provides political and economic justification for the inner-circle strategy. It also prepares favorable public opinion and a social mobilization environment for a possible all-out war. It's a "win-win situation" for the CCP, to borrow one of Xi Jinping's favorite phrases.

By shifting its economic development model to an inner-circle one, the CCP can reduce its dependence on external markets and resources. This helps the CCP maintain economic autonomy and stability for the time being. And, it strengthens nationalism and leads public opinion. This is the CCP's quest to maintain social stability under internal and external pressure.

Xi's Policies Not Random or Stupid

Many people tend to think that Xi's policies are stupid. He is often portrayed as rash in his thinking. In reality, the initiatives that appear foolish to outsiders are systematic deployments to prepare for a possible all-out war.

Xi's policies and measures are not random. He is hardly a stupid man. His policies have a clear strategic goal. From the implementation of the inner circle economic policy to the strengthening of nationalism, to public opinion and social mobilization. These are all interrelated. All form a complete strategic system.

China is faced with changes in the international situation, especially when it comes to tensions with the US, Japan, and other countries. Some say that Xi's strategic adjustments to these changes show foresight in dealing with these challenges. In any event, Xi's adjustments are not foolish.

If we understand things from this angle, we might gain a more accurate insight into the CCP's current political and economic dynamics. Armed with this knowledge, we can formulate strategies to deal with what the CCP is planning next.

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Author: Jennifer Zeng
Find articles by Jennifer Zeng on JAPAN Forward. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) and on her blog page, Jennifer's World.