China Local News
From Reckless Driving to Cyber Bullying: Wuhan Mother Jumps to Death after Son Gets Run over by Teacher’s Car
The Wuhan mother received online harassment for dressing nicely and for allegedly hyping the case for compensation.
A tragic incident that unfolded in Wuhan has garnered significant attention on Chinese social media this week. It involves a mother who took her own life a week after her son was tragically crushed to death by a car driven by his teacher within the primary school campus.
The little boy named Xiaotan, a grade one student, was run over by a car near the school gates of the Wuhan Hanyang District Hongqiao School (弘桥小学) on May 23. He was just about to pick up a paper plane from the ground when he was hit by the car.
As reported by Thatsmag on May 26, the boy’s parents could not accept the teacher’s explanation of how the incident could have happened.
The teacher claimed he tried to wave the boy away with his hand when he appeared in front of his car and then waited before proceeding. But CCTV footage from the school showed that the car initially stopped for 2-3 seconds after the front wheels ran over Xiaotan, and then started driving again, causing the back wheels to run over the boy.
The teacher reportedly was not supposed to drive his car there at all according to school rules. According to school staff members, the teacher deviated from the designated path for vehicle entry and exit within the school premises.
On May 25th, the Education Bureau of Hanyang District made an announcement stating that the teacher in question had been criminally detained by the public security authorities and that legal actions will be taken based on the findings of the ongoing investigation into the incident. The school’s principal and deputy principal of the school were also removed from their positions.
Following the incident, the boy’s mother, Yang, spoke out about the incident at multiple occasions, as she was looking for justice. The way the school and authorities responded to the incident seemed to further exacerbate her despair, as more questions lingered.
Mother Yang with her young son.
Why was her child not sent to the nearest hospital after the incident? Why was the teacher driving so recklessly? Why was a car allowed to enter the primary school campus at all?
On the evening of June 2, Yang jumped from the 24th floor of a building in her residential community.
Cyberbullying
In the wake of this tragedy, the discussions on Chinese social media primarily revolve around the issue of cyberbullying. Many people believe that it was the online harassment Xiaotan’s mother endured that ultimately led her to take her own life.
After the death of her son, Yang voiced her grievances in multiple ways. The woman, a successful local real estate agent, received online slander for dressing nicely or even because she wore makeup. Other people accused her of hyping her son’s death to get more compensation, as she waited around the school for answers and an apology while mourning her son and talking to reporters.
The boy’s mother spoke out in various ways and tried to get justice. In doing so, she received online backlash.
Before her tragic death, Yang had published a post online in which she said she wanted to go and be together with her son (#坠楼离世母亲曾发文称想陪孩子一起去#).
Many people compared the story to that of Liu Xuezhou (刘学洲). The teenage boy became well-known in 2022 after an online search for his biological parents turned into a nightmare. Not only did Liu Xuezhou discover he was a victim of human trafficking, he also suffered online harassment. The situation eventually drove him to commit suicide.
One Weibo blogger (@开花富贵老娘发飙) highlighted that the Wuhan mother’s death should not solely be attributed to online harassment but rather to the lack of psychological support for individuals who go through such immense tragedies and suddenly find themselves in the spotlight of online attention. The blogger emphasized the need for psychological intervention for victims like the mother in Wuhan and Liu Xuezhou, as they often resort to expressing their grievances online, only to become a target of cyberbullies.
Commentator Hu Xijin (胡锡进) also responded to the issue in a post on June 4, in which he highlighted that the case is tragic and complex, and that cyberbullying is one factor that worsened the mother’s mental state. Online harassment must be avoided at all costs, Hu argued: “Internet users need to think about how to express their opinions without being harsh towards those who are grieving.”
On Douyin, where Yang frequently posted, many people mourn the tragic death of both mother and son.
Meanwhile, multiple commenters note how the cars inside Wuhan’s school campuses have disappeared, and that even outside of Wuhan in other cities in Hubei, there are no longer cars parked inside the primary school campus. Various sources report that, following the incident, it was announced that vehicles are no longer allowed to park inside school campuses.
On June 3, various bloggers also noted how accounts that were involved in the online harassment of Yang have now been restricted or blocked by the Weibo platform.
By Manya Koetse, with contributions by Miranda Barnes
For information and support on mental health and suicide, international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.
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China Local News
Six Chinese Students Dead After Falling Into Flotation Tank During Mine Visit
After six students drowned in a mine tank, social media users question safety precautions and media framing.
🔥 Quick Take: Trending in China
This is a brief update from our curated roundup of what’s trending in China this week. A version of this story also appears in the Weibo Watch newsletter. Subscribe to stay in the loop.
The tragic death of six Chinese students during a visit to the Wunugetushan Copper-Molybdenum Mine (乌努格吐山铜钼矿) in Inner Mongolia has been trending on Chinese social media this week.
The students, who study mineral processing engineering at the School of Resources & Civil Engineering Northeastern University (东北大学), visited the site as part of their studies on Wednesday, July 23.
The facility, which operates under the state-owned China National Gold Group Corporation (中国黄金集团), includes a mineral processing plant where ore is crushed and processed using flotation cells to separate copper and molybdenum concentrate from waste rock.
The students were standing on a metal grate above a deep industrial tank used for mineral processing. The grate then suddenly collapsed, and they fell into the flotation tank, which was filled with mineral slurry (see this video to better understand the situation).
The tank was deep, and once inside, the slurry made it impossible to swim.
By the time the students were taken out of the tank, they had already drowned. They were all aged between 20 and 22. One of their teachers was injured in the incident.
According to Sohu News, citing a preliminary accident investigation report, the direct cause of the incident was a pre-existing crack in the grate above the tank, which caused the entire panel to flip and fall off. The grates had been replaced in February but were not properly tested. The site also lacked warning signs about load capacity and reportedly did not restrict the number of people allowed to stand on it.
Three people responsible for safety measures at the site, including the deputy general manager, have now been placed under criminal detention.
Besides the many questions surfacing online about how such a gruesome accident could have occurred, there is also criticism of how the media has reported on the incident. Some outlets mentioned that the 45 other intern students—presumably also present during the visit—were “emotionally stable,” and that the teacher who was injured was in a “good mental state.”
One blogger criticized these phrases, which are often used in media reports following similar incidents. While they appear to describe the psychological condition of survivors or bystanders, the author argued that they are more political than psychological: their real function is to signal to readers that—despite the loss of life—the situation remains under control.
After the online criticism, the Weibo hashtag “45 Intern Students from Northeastern University Are Emotionally Stable” (#东北大学45名实习学生情绪平稳#) has since been taken offline.
At the time of writing, the official website of Northeastern University has been changed to black and white.
By Manya Koetse
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🔥 Quick Take: Trending in China – Week 18
This is a brief update from our curated roundup of what’s trending in China this week. A version of this story also appears in the Weibo Watch newsletter. Subscribe to stay in the loop.
An enormous fire that happened at a restaurant in Liaoning’s Liaoyang on the afternoon of April 29 (see video) has gone top trending on Chinese social media, mainly due to the fact that it caused so many fatalities.
By 7pm, Chinese official media reported that the fire, which happened at 12:25 in the city’s Baita district, had killed 22 people. Three people were injured.
The fire started on the second floor of the restaurant Sanli Chuniang (三里厨娘/Sanli Chef’s Daughter) on Minzhu Road (民主路) and quickly spread throughout the entire two-story brick-concrete structure, which covers an area of about 260 square meters. The windy weather also played a part in how quickly the fire spread. The fire broke out around lunchtime, when there were many customers.
The restaurant before and after the fire.
Some sources on Xiaohongshu report that, according to witnesses, toxic smoke filled the entire building in less than five minutes. The thick smoke, small spaces inside the two-story building, and limited escape routes — some of which were allegedly blocked — all contributed to the high number of fatalities. Some victims were reportedly just ten meters away from the exit, yet still failed to escape.
According to Caixin, the restaurant’s second floor had several private rooms without windows.
To make matters worse, some nearby vehicles were not moved in time, hindering the rescue operations.
Sanli Chuniang was a locally popular restaurant serving various Chinese dishes, snacks, and dumplings. It was in business since 2016.
On social media, many commenters are expressing shock and sadness over the deadly fire. They also want answers into why there seemed to have been little to no fire safety precautions at the establishment.
The last time a restaurant fire with many fatalities made major headlines in China was in 2023, when a gas explosion inside a BBQ restaurant in Yinchuan resulted in 31 deaths. Nine people, including the restaurant owner, were later arrested in connection with the fire and the lack of safety precautions.
Some reports on the Liaoyang restaurant fire have now been removed, but it appears that the restaurant had been operating illegally since 2023 and that its fire safety inspections were not up to date.
Guancha reported that while the cause of the fire is still under investigation, the restaurant owner has been taken into custody.
🔄 Update 1: Chinese leader Xi Jinping issued a statement regarding the devastating fire, calling on local authorities to hold those responsible accountable and to properly handle matters related to the victims and console their families.
Premier Li Qiang also emphasized that local authorities across China should screen for fire hazards and strengthen safety measures to prevent such major accidents from occurring.
🔄 Update 2: Preliminary investigations have ruled out arson or gas leakage as the cause of the fire. The specific cause of the incident is still under investigation, focusing on leftover cigarette butts that might have started the fire or possible electrical faults. The restaurant’s furniture and interior materials were highly flammable, and strong winds outside caused the fire to spread quickly and block the exits. This made it difficult for those trapped inside to escape. Most victims died from asphyxiation after inhaling large amounts of toxic smoke in a short time.
As definite results have not yet been issued at the time of writing (May 6), some netizens are wondering: “When can we expect to hear more?”
By Manya Koetse
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