Flow of sympathy as act of bravery ends in China tragedy
- Hu Youping gave her life to protect a bus full of Japanese schoolchildren in Suzhou from a knife-wielding attacker
People who put their lives at risk to save others rightly inspire boundless admiration. This can turn to shared grief if such bravery ends in tragedy.
A case in point is the death of 54-year-old school bus employee Hu Youping, which has prompted an outpouring of sympathy on social media.
Hu died two days after she was stabbed multiple times trying to restrain an attacker at a school bus stop in Suzhou, Jiangsu province.
An unemployed man, 52, first attacked a mother and child waiting at the stop and then tried to get on the bus, which was carrying Japanese schoolchildren.
Suzhou police said Hu’s courageous act “prevented more people from being hurt”. The mother, also wounded, said Hu stopped the attack and enabled her son to escape.
The incident was isolated and has prompted inquiries into the motive.
A wave of public support for Hu’s family has included offers of donations, which they have declined, suggesting they go to “foundations around the country for courageous acts” and requesting privacy. Hu’s death brought people together in condolence and respect, typified by a video posting by Japanese ambassador Kenji Kanasugi on the embassy’s WeChat account, on behalf of the Japanese government and people.
Sadly, there has also been a flurry of ultranationalist and anti-Japanese comments on social media platforms that were quickly deleted. According to Weibo, which says it banned at least 36 accounts, some postings included extreme remarks that incited nationalistic sentiment and promoted group hatred.
Such extremism has to be a concern. Thankfully it seems the mainland authorities share it.
This comes just after China dropped a clause in new public security laws which would have punished the “hurting of national feelings” or “harm to the spirit of the nation”.
Shen Chunyao, deputy chairman of the NPC constitution and law committee, said such phrasing was subjective with potential for misinterpretation. “There is concern law enforcement may infringe upon the legitimate rights and normal life of the public,” he said.
It is good that officials listened to public worries that the provision was unclear and might fuel extreme nationalism.
