Blog post #3: Disturbed Ax-Wielding Farmer Kills Six in Central Chinese City

A man in Beijing roamed the streets killing six people with an ax this past Wednesday morning; two of which were children. The attack took place in the city of Gongyi in the Henan Province. This was not the first violent episode China has seen lately. This is just the latest in a series of attacks since last year that have killed more than two dozen people and wounded around 100, many of them children. As a result of these murder sprees the authorities have increases security near schools and brought to light the fact that there is a severe systematic lack of treatment for the mentally ill. Since gun ownership is severely restricted, all of the attacks have involved knives, meat cleavers, and other tools for slashing. Many copycats have risen since the first attack and because of this China has decided to largely censor news of the attacks. The most recent killer was identified by the state news agency as having a history of schizophrenia. The authorities have shown little sympathy for those involved in previous acts of violence against schoolchildren. Last year three of the attackers were sentenced to death after unusually speedy trials.

Murder happens all around the world on a daily basis, but does that mean it’s a social problem? In this case it is hard not to notice the brutality of murders going on in China. It is rare to see a spree of attacks involving the same group of people and within such a short period of time. Many questions can be raised from this article, such as what is the cause of such an unnecessary rampage? What is the government planning to do? It appears that because of China's communistic system of government, there is a lack of mental hospitals for the mentally ill to go. China has made efforts to provide proper care for the mentally ill, but there still aren’t enough. According to a similar article in The Telegraph, China is determined to strengthen its mental health care by building hundreds of new facilities. The improved treatment for the mentally ill will reduce the chance of such attacks. China is a major world power that is undergoing a huge transformation in its government and people. As a result there have been some obvious areas that deserve much improvement. Mental illness alone is not a social problem. It becomes a social problem in a case such as this when it involves numerous occurrences and victims as a result of insufficient facilities.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/15/world/asia/axe-wielding-farmer-goes-on-killing-spree-in-central-china.html?ref=world

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/7843466/China-to-build-550-mental-hospitals-in-response-to-school-stabbings.html