Two Family Planning Officials were killed and four suffered injuries Tuesday after a man attacked their office, reported state-run Chinese media. Reports said the man, a father of four, carried knives into the Dongxing City Family Planning Bureau after officials refused to register his over-quota child.
On July 22, the man went to the Dongxing bureau to register his fourth child for a hukou, which provides Chinese people with access to education, medical care and travel on trains and planes. Officials refused to give him the hukou unless he paid a fine for violating the One-Child Policy. In Guangxi province, these fines range from $3,690 to $31,733 while the average urban income is $3,071.
Around 8:30 a.m. on July 23, the man returned to the Dongxing bureau carrying machetes. After walking to the third-floor office, he killed the Family Planning Bureau’s Director and Deputy Director and injured four others. He cut off the right hand of the Deputy Secretary when she raised it to protect her head. She remains in a coma after undergoing surgery.
When local police arrived on the scene, the man continued to defend himself by waving his knives. Video footage shows policemen cautiously surrounding him before arresting him around 9:30 a.m.
Chinese state-run media attributed the man’s killing spree to his mental illness, but some Chinese citizens distrust this claim. The phrase 被精神病, or “to be labeled mentally ill,” is used in China to describe people whose crimes against the government are officially attributed to mental illnesses. The phrase has gained popularity in recent years as state-run media have reported on similar cases.
This incident highlights China’s growing dissatisfaction with the One-Child Policy. As China turns deaf ears to the cries of common people, scholars and celebrities, it will face more protests from desperate people seeking justice. Yet All Girls Allowed grieves the lives lost in this senseless tragedy.
Brian Lee, Executive Director of All Girls Allowed, said, “Tragedies like this show how deeply China’s culture of death has taken root. When China’s government devalues human life, every citizen becomes a victim. We pray that the man who committed this crime, his children, the Family Planning Officials and their families would embrace the love and forgiveness of Jesus and that China would end this oppressive policy.”
