State Media Silent on Zhuhai Car Attack: Is 35 Deaths the "Cap" for Major Accidents

A major, malicious collision incident took place at the Zhuhai Sports Center Plaza, where eyewitness #1 reported over eighty injuries and more than ten deaths. (Video screenshot, Dajiyuan composite)

People News - On Monday evening (November 11), an SUV plowed into pedestrians at the Sports Center in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, resulting in 35 deaths and 43 injuries, drawing international media attention. Even the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded by claiming that "China is one of the safest countries." However, local state media made no mention of the tragedy, and online rumors circulated that official reports rarely exceed 35 deaths in major incidents to avoid triggering official repercussions.

According to Radio Free Asia, the day after the incident, Zhuhai Special Zone Daily made no mention of the car attack, with front-page headlines instead focusing on "Xi Jinping," and no coverage of the event appeared on pages two or three, as if the tragedy had never happened.

A viral image online titled "Why do official reports for major accidents typically report 35 deaths?" lists other incidents where 35 deaths were reported. It explains that if a man-made accident leads to more than 35 deaths, according to regulations, the city Party Secretary must be dismissed. Thus, death tolls in official reports usually do not exceed 35 to avoid accountability from higher authorities.

According to the "Regulations on Reporting and Investigation of Production Safety Accidents," an incident causing over 30 deaths or more than 100 serious injuries is classified as an "especially major accident," while 10 to 30 deaths or 50 to 100 serious injuries constitute a "major accident." The claim about the "35-death cap" appears to stem from dissatisfaction among netizens with how officials handle such incidents.

Many netizens criticized the state media for "downplaying" the tragedy in Zhuhai. One user commented on X: "When I was in China, I thought only death tolls were reported in large casualty events. Then I came to the U.S., where each victim has a name, a family, a story, no matter the number. Respecting life marks the difference between a civilized world and the law of the jungle."