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China clears memorial to mass killing victims as government scrambles to respond

Authorities in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai removed wreaths, candle lights and even bottles of Chinese alcohol laid at the scene of the deadliest mass killing in the country in a decade, as the government rushed to react and censor the outrage online. On Monday, a male motorist mad at his divorce settlement rammed his vehicle into a crowd at a sports centre in the city of 2.5 million, killing 35 people and injuring 43, but the federal government took almost a day to reveal the death toll.

This triggered an outrage on Chinese social networks, where posts complaining about the government's slow response and raising questions about the psychological health of a country shaken by a recent spate of similar killings, were being rapidly eliminated. Regardless of the efforts to clear the site in Zhuhai, which is near Macau, shipment chauffeurs on motor-bikes kept dropping off fresh flowers on Wednesday morning, even as authorities set up temporary barriers around the makeshift vigil area and deployed security personnel.

The authorities hadn't released any details - some colleagues mentioned it and I couldn't think it initially, but it was confirmed later, said a 50-year-old man who recognized himself as Zheng who brought flowers to the website.

It's simply a spontaneous feeling I had. Although I don't. understand them personally, I had relative who passed away in. the past, so I comprehend that feeling, said Zheng. Some wreaths carried handwritten notes: Complete strangers travel well. May there be no satanic forces in paradise, checked out one. On another: May. there be no thugs in heaven. Good will victory over evil. Rest. in peace.

After initially enabling journalists to briefly speak to the. individuals laying the flowers, a handful of security personnel. sporting light blue uniforms and caps told reporters not to talk. to individuals or to movie particular messages on the bouquets.

The attack happened as Zhuhai captured China's attention. with individuals's Liberation Army's largest annual airshow,. where a new stealth jet fighter is on display screen for the very first. time.

China's state broadcaster CCTV did not mention the attack in. its 30-minute midday news bulletin. Instead, the program led. with President Xi Jinping's departure for the APEC top in. Peru and dedicated a part of the airtime to the airshow.

Other state media, such as China Daily's Chinese language. website, likewise prominently showed the news of Xi's upcoming. check out to Peru. The existing affairs part of China Daily's site. and the area page did not point out the incident either. Numerous rescue workers were deployed to provide emergency. treatment, and more than 300 health care employees from 5. medical facilities worked all the time to save lives, state media's. Beijing Daily reported on Tuesday.

There was no sign that the attack was related to the. airshow. But it was the second such event to occur during the. Zhuhai airshow: in 2008, a minimum of 4 people were eliminated and 20. injured when a guy drove a truck into a crowded schoolyard. during the airshow. Cops stated that assaulter had actually been seeking. revenge over a traffic dispute.

Xi, pointed out by CCTV on Tuesday, bought full-scale efforts to. deal with the hurt and required extreme penalty for the. criminal. The main federal government has dispatched a group to. provide guidance on handling of the case, CCTV stated.

Violent crime is unusual in China due to tight security and. stringent weapon laws. However, a rise in reports of knife attacks in. big cities has actually drawn spotlight to security in public. areas.

The deadliest attack Reuters was able to recognize in current. years in China occurred in Urumqi, in China's western Xinjiang. region, in 2014, in which suicide bombers eliminated 39 people and. 4 of the 5 aggressors also died.

(source: Reuters)