Evanxu on Nostr: A 14-year-old middle school student in Ningling County, Henan Province, China was ...

A 14-year-old middle school student in Ningling County, Henan Province, China was brutally tortured and killed in school. The body showed obvious signs of being beaten and assaulted. The Chinese government insisted that he died of suicide. People questioned the authorities' stabilization measures to quell the incident and lost trust in the government, which subsequently triggered a wave of large-scale demonstrations. It was reported that tens of thousands of people responded to the call. Demonstrators demand that the authorities tell the truth and be held accountable.
On December 28, 2023, thousands of people gathered outside the gate of Yuhuayuan Senior High School in Ningling County. The magistrate of Ningling County went to the scene to negotiate with the people. Some demonstrators demanded "kill for life". Videos posted by netizens showed that the Ningling County authorities sent hundreds of police officers to inspect the area. Another video showed that crowds surrounded the building where official agencies were suspected to be stationed, and some people attacked the main entrance, demanding that the authorities disclose the truth.
Some Shangqiu residents received a text message from the police station saying that people were not allowed to go to the school where the accident occurred, otherwise they would "bear the consequences at their own risk."

The incident occurred on the morning of December 24, 2023. The school informed the family that a 14-year-old student named Yang was found dead on campus. After the family members saw the body at around 3 p.m. It was found that his body was covered with scars, his hands had been injured with a screwdriver, there were many holes, and his feet and neck had been twisted.
The family members suspected that the school was covering up the truth and requested surveillance video and relevant evidence, but the school refused.
Three days later, the Chinese government determined that the student committed suicide by jumping off a building.
On December 27, 2023, the official issued an announcement characterizing the incident as a student "suicide by jumping off a building" and ruled out that it was a criminal incident, which caused a strong backlash from the local people. The deceased’s grandparents, parents and other relatives placed portraits and photos of the deceased at the school gate, as well as banners with the words “Give me back my children”, and shouted slogans such as “School teachers kill students”. A large number of local residents came to the scene to lay flowers and questioned the government's rush to characterize the incident in order to maintain stability. The next day, the demonstrations escalated further. People even clashed with the police.
Xing Jian, a Henan resident who followed the incident, told VOA that he was not surprised that the sudden death of a boy in school triggered large-scale demonstrations.
Xing Jian said: "All signs show that the child was violently beaten before his death, rather than 'jumped from a building'. The official avoided the facts and then characterized the incident as a 'natural death' to avoid criminal responsibility. People ( Strong response) is based on sympathy for children and a sense of social responsibility. If I don’t stand up today, I won’t be able to stand up tomorrow. There is a kind of anger accumulated in everyone’s heart.”
The video uploaded to the Internet quoted a suspected student from the school describing what happened, believing that the deceased may have been killed in the toilet in the early morning of the 23rd, and then the body was thrown downstairs from upstairs by the school.
Some students claimed that the principal was involved.
Someone who claimed to be a relative of the deceased said that the windows on both sides of the school dormitory were sealed, and the deceased could not jump from the dormitory at all. As early as last year, a student in this school was physically punished by a teacher. The teacher also asked other students to take turns beating him.
A Henan resident who named Ms. Bai out of security concerns believed there was something behind the incident.
Ms. Bai said: "Students from a local school went home and told their parents that the teacher took the child to the small toilet and beat him. After beating him badly, he forced the child to lie down in the toilet all the time. When he was about to die, he took the child from upstairs. Throw it down. A netizen from the next village told me that this school has a very strong protective umbrella. It is 100% due to collusion between the government and business. Anyone who can open a school must have a very strong protective umbrella."
Shangqiu authorities block highway due to heavy fog
As the incident continued to unfold, people successively went to Shangqiu City to support the deceased and their families. It is understood that starting from December 28, the authorities once used heavy fog as an excuse to close all highway exits to prevent outside vehicles from entering the city.
Ms. Bai said: "Many people from Henan, surrounding areas, and Shandong responded to the call to support the parents of the children. Everyone drove there. The authorities used the heavy fog as an excuse to directly block the gates of the highway. The county seat is only Can't get in or out. People picking up children have to show their ID cards. Generally speaking, the highway must have visibility less than 50 meters before it is closed. Yesterday, it was completely visible."
Jiangxi high school student Hu Xinyu disappeared from school last year, attracting widespread attention from the outside world. More than three months later, his body was found in the woods near Shangrao City. According to news circulating on the Internet, Hu Xinyu’s blood type belonged to rare panda blood and his organs were sold after his death. The provincial public security task force determined that Hu Xinyu committed suicide.
Former Chinese media personality Zhao Lanjian told VOA that the tragedy that occurred in Shangqiu, Hunan reminds people of the Hu Xinyu incident. He said that China's educational environment has undergone fundamental changes in recent years. Many private capital, real estate developers and even people with unknown origins are involved in the management and operation of the school.
Zhao Lanjian said: "The principal and teachers of the school are no longer just principals and teachers. Its background is a commercial interest group. We can also see this feature through the Hu Xinyu incident: students suddenly disappeared in the school , it is also a closed school as strong as a prison."
China has repeatedly used high-pressure measures to quell public anger
The school’s business background has led to extremely obvious collusion between government and business. In the teaching process, as long as it involves real estate development, the personnel involved will have great benefits. A school like the one in our hometown.
Principals will have one or two houses in provincial capitals, prefectures, and counties. Some principals even have houses in Beijing. It’s just a matter of the house. He is no longer a mere educator. "
At present, there is a lack of good communication channels between Chinese officials and citizens. I believe that the authorities will also use high-pressure measures to deal with the sudden death of a middle school student in Henan.
It will be exactly the same as Hu Xinyu's case. In the end, the higher-level public security and judicial departments will make the final decision, and then use coercive means to silence all the people. If some people want to fight for this matter and redress their grievances, they will definitely be arrested in the name of national security or disrupting social order.