Chinese internet platforms crack down on extremist rhetoric after Japanese mother, child stabbed

BEIJING – Major Chinese internet platforms have pledged to combat speech that incites confrontation between China and Japan and stirs up radical nationalism.

This follows a stabbing incident that resulted in the death of a selfless Chinese woman and the injury of two Japanese nationals.

The incident occurred on June 24 when the suspect, surnamed Zhou, allegedly attacked a Japanese mother and her child with a knife in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. Ms. Hu Youping, who tried to stop Zhou, was also stabbed and later died in hospital on June 26.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed its condolences to Ms. Hu, and the Japanese Embassy in China lowered its flag to half-mast to pay tribute to her.

In statements over the weekend, five major internet platforms – Tencent, Baidu, Douyin, NetEase and iFeng.com – praised Ms. Hu's courage and moral behavior.

However, they also condemned users who made extreme remarks encouraging confrontations between China and Japan, or who tarnished Ms. Hu's reputation by calling her a mole for Japan. Platforms have blocked or closed accounts containing such harmful content.

The platforms said they would continue to punish users who incite intergroup hatred and extreme nationalism to gain attention and attract data traffic. They also opened channels for users to report such behavior.

Earlier, Sina Weibo, China's largest microblogging platform, issued a similar statement on June 26. It noted the presence of remarks inciting extreme nationalism and promoting hatred between groups following discussions of the stabbing.

Sina Weibo said it removed more than 700 pieces of such content and punished the owners of 36 accounts. THE CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK