Thousands Protest 14-Year-Old's Mysterious Death and Subsequent Coverup
In Henan, thousands have gathered to protest the death and possible gruesome murder of a 14-year-old student, as well as the government’s apparent complicity in helping the school cover it up. According to reports from “Li Laoshi” (@whyyoutouzhele) on Twitter and the “Yesterday” (@YesterdayBigcat) protest-tracking account, the student’s family was notified at 6am on December 24 that the deceased died in an “accident” at school, but was not allowed to see the body until late afternoon, when they discovered that the student bore signs of torture.
Because the school refused to release video footage or any other evidence, and because of suspicious circumstances related to the timing of the death, the family believes that the school was attempting to stall and hide what really happened. On December 27, the family members of the deceased began to protest outside Yuhuayuan Senior High School, Ningling County, Shangqiu City, Henan Province, and called on the school to release evidence and investigate the case thoroughly. Many locals joined them to show their sympathy and support. The same day, the local authorities released a report claiming the student’s death was suicide, which only sparked further protests as most were unconvinced given the existing evidence. Some protestors even entered the school to demand the school release CCTV footage and other evidence, which led to police pushing the crowds back from the school and setting up a cordon. On December 28, the crowd grew over ten thousand strong, and the demonstrators began to march towards the city government.
Today, December 29, the Epoch Times reports that locals are refusing to speak with journalists, claiming that they will be arrested for speaking out. The highways in and out of the city are reportedly blocked off, and there have been arrests made. Videos show dozens of police deployed across the city, and the authorities ordered locals to stay away from Yuhuayuan School. Yet despite these obstacles, and the winter weather, large numbers of protestors still showed up for a third day to show support for the student and his family, and express their displeasure over the way the case was handled.
Large-scale protests in China are extremely rare, due to the consistent repression of free speech and free association. The Chinese government takes great pains to censor anything online that could rouse social passions, and police are ready to suppress protestors at a moment’s notice. The events of the last few days are remarkable, not only because of the facts of this case, but also because they show that the Chinese people are ready and willing to show up for a cause they believe in. It also reflects a tendency for cases that are clearly non-political and sympathetic—here, the death of a child—to tap into larger political and social grievances that many hold but would be afraid to express openly. It is also possible that the events of the last few years, including the White Paper protests, have influenced regular citizens’ willingness to participate in civil disobedience. No matter the case, sharing information about protests online supports the demonstrators and makes it harder for the government to simply sweep the incident under the rug.
This incident is still ongoing, and sympathy for the family and protestors continues to spread on social media.
