China executed Fan Weiqiu, a 62-year-old man convicted of killing at least 35 people in a car attack last November, the deadliest such incident in the country in a decade.
A fan injured dozens more when he plowed his car into a crowd of people exercising outside a stadium in the southern city of Zhuhai. The attack, described by authorities as “extremely vile,” highlights growing concern over public acts of violence in China.
State media also reported the execution of a second individual, Xu Jiajin, 21, who carried out another attack a few days later. Xu killed eight people in a series of stabbings at his university in Wuxi, located in eastern China.
Authorities stated that Fan was motivated by “dissatisfaction” over the division of his property after his divorce, while Xu's attack was due to his “failure to obtain his diploma due to poor exam results.”
Fan was detained at the scene of the Nov. 11 attack, where police reported he was found with self-inflicted wounds.
In December, the Zhuhai Intermediate People's Court found him guilty of “endangering public safety,” emphasizing that his methods were “particularly cruel.” Less than a month later, Fan was executed on Monday.
In Xu's case, police reported that he confessed to his crimes “without hesitation” on November 16. He was sentenced to death on December 17, with the court describing his actions as “particularly evil” and “extremely serious.”
Human rights organizations say China is the world's leading executioner, with thousands of executions reportedly carried out each year. However, the country does not release official figures, making these claims impossible to verify.
China has faced a rise in public violence, often involving people seeking “revenge on society” over personal grievances. In 2024, there were 19 such attacks across the country.
Shortly after the incidents in Zhuhai and Wuxi, another man drove into a crowd of children and parents outside a primary school in Changde, injuring 30 people. Authorities said the attacker, Huang Wen, acted out of frustration over investment losses and family disputes.
Huang received a suspended death sentence last month, which could be commuted to life in prison if he avoids further crimes in the next two years.
Experts have noted that these attacks raise concerns about how Chinese citizens are coping with various pressures, including the country's slowing economy.
“Tensions appear to be rising and there appears to be no way they will ease in the near future,” said George Magnus, an economist at Oxford University's China Center.
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