Foreigners stabbed in China, social media under lens

Chinese social media platforms are facing increasing scrutiny over the proliferation of hate speech following a series of violent attacks on foreign nationals in China, Al Jazeera reported.

Xenophobic and nationalistic comments have flourished on these platforms, even after several Chinese tech giants pledged to address hate speech in response to a spate of stabbings involving Japanese and American citizens.

In the summer of 2024, there were at least four separate stabbings of foreign nationals in China, including a high-profile incident in Shenzhen where a 10-year-old Japanese boy was killed in September.

This attack, occurring on the anniversary of a controversial historical event, prompted Japan to demand explanations from China regarding its safety measures for foreign nationals.

In response to the tragedy, Japanese businesses offered to repatriate their staff and families.

Prior to this, in April, a knife attack in Jilin injured four American college instructors, further straining relations between the United States and China. 

However, Chinese authorities maintained that the incidents were isolated and insisted that similar attacks could happen in any country, as stated by Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who said, "Similar cases could happen in any country."

Despite these assertions, Chinese social media platforms like Weibo have come under increasing criticism for their handling of hate speech.

On the platform, posts filled with xenophobic rhetoric targeting Americans, Japanese, and other foreign nationals have been widespread.

One user even expressed a desire for the deaths of Japanese people, repeating the sentiment multiple times.  -- ANI