Keeping a tight lid on the killings
A decade ago, media outlets could report an incident as it developed and even share a suspect’s name. Nowadays, it’s rarely possible.
During the 24 hours before the death toll was released in the Zhuhai slaying, state censors were quick to remove any videos of the incident and eyewitness accounts shared online. In the case of the Hunan elementary school attack, authorities shared the number of the wounded only
after the court sentencing, nearly a month later.
A tally of violent attacks can be documented in other countries; notably, the U.S. had
38 mass killings so far this year, according to an Associated Press database. But in China, a lack of public data makes it hard to decipher mass killing trends.