Chapter 497: then translation of title

The next day, the vicious 'assault' incident in Nanyuan continued to ferment online, predictably becoming a hot topic and sparking a nationwide online discussion.

Netizens said, 'Again and again, minors commit crimes; again and again, parents impose strict education; again and again, we are left helpless! Does being a minor mean they can kill at will?'

What netizens fail to understand is whether they don't grasp the serious consequences of using controlled knives to commit violence, or whether they are exploiting the identity of minors to run amok. Being under 16 is no excuse; the law must be improved.

One netizen proposed: The Law on the Protection of Minors protects law-abiding minors, not criminal ones. Since the emergence of bullying phenomena, this has been discussed repeatedly, ultimately shifting the burden onto victims to bear themselves. For those who are wicked and lawless, can mere strict discipline really reform them? If it were truly effective, how could victims have ended up like this?

Some netizens argued that minors should not serve as a protective shield for their wanton actions; this gang clearly had organization and premeditation, and their actions were subjective, their methods cruel, their nature extremely heinous. Who will safeguard the victims' rights? Is this how a serious violent incident just ends?

Municipal Discipline Inspection Committee Supervision Office One

Li Fan hurriedly said, 'Secretary, I am already handling this matter; last night I launched an investigation into the several perpetrators and strictly probed the 'protective umbrella' behind them. Nanyuan will surely settle this properly and not cause trouble for the Provincial Party Committee!'

Tang Bing said, 'This incident leaves me shocked and angry! Several minors wielding knives randomly slashed people, causing serious injuries, yet they only received an order for guardians to discipline them—a punishment netizens find hard to accept as reasonable. Such a ruling cannot serve as an effective deterrent; for the perpetrators and other minors, it practically declares they can do as they please. These criminal suspects should be strictly punished according to law, given a harsh legal lesson, to safeguard social safety and justice.'

Li Fan replied, 'I will certainly implement the secretary's instructions, take effective measures, and handle this vicious incident fairly, justly, and openly, providing a satisfactory explanation to the Provincial Party Committee and the city's populace.'

At 10 a. m., Wu Bin, head of the Discipline Inspection Group of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, and Feng Yifan, director of the first supervision room of the Municipal Discipline Inspection Committee, led several cadres to the Longgang Police Station to investigate the 'assault' incident.

Seeing the superior departments making a big fuss, the police station chief sensed trouble and immediately contacted the deputy captain of the Municipal Criminal Police Detachment to discuss countermeasures.

Facing the Discipline Inspection Committee's scrutiny, the chief, unable to grasp the situation, outright denied any favoritism or fraud in the case handling, insisting on strict adherence to legal provisions.

Wu Bin and Feng Yifan came down with orders—to 'deal with people'—how could they listen to just his side of the story?

The Discipline Inspection Committee immediately retrieved the chief's recent communication records, discovering frequent calls between him and the families of those involved in the assault case; it thus launched an investigation into this matter and also conducted a deep probe into his integrity, diligence, and other duties. In short, the saying goes: if we suspect you have a problem, you must have a problem—this is what the work, the organization, and the big picture demand.

Soon, the investigations by the Discipline Inspection Committee and the Public Security Bureau yielded a major finding: among the six assailants, two were over 16 years old, and the parents of all four implicated individuals were civil servants.

Deputy Division-level

Just after two p. m., when work began, my father-in-law Li Mingzhou called, concerned, asking, 'Li Fan, the Nanyuan incident has stirred public opinion—how is the handling going?'

Li Fan replied, 'Dad, basically the investigation is clear: the police station showed favoritism and fraud in handling the case, there was falsification of ages, and the relatives of the implicated persons include three Deputy Division Level officials.'

Li Mingzhou spoke earnestly: 'They're just division-level officials—take them down if they should be, using the ordinary people's usual anger. Facing public opinion, you must make decisive decisions, never procrastinate. As a cadre in the echelon, when confronting sudden events you must show a sense of the overall situation, responsibility, and commitment, and not let this bring you negative impact.'

Nanyuan's verdict is too lenient; their actions have already caused enormous harm to victims and society, and merely ordering guardians to impose strict discipline is far insufficient. Regardless of age, weapon-related crimes should receive due punishment—even minors cannot escape the law!

Public Security Bureau Director

At 3 p. m., Discipline Inspection Committee Secretary Fang Yang and Public Security Bureau Chief Tian Xian came to report on the progress of the investigation into the 'assault' case.

After hearing the report, Li Fan instructed: 'Handle it strictly, severely, and swiftly; our country's criminal law clearly stipulates that for those aged fourteen to under sixteen who commit intentional injury causing serious harm, criminal liability must be pursued by law, and they should be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of less than three years, or detention or surveillance.'

You must impose corresponding criminal penalties based on the victims' actual injuries. The handling results should be promptly disclosed to society, using official accounts, Weibo, and other online channels to release authoritative information in a timely manner, announce the truth of the event, show Nanyuan's determination to welcome public oversight and not cover up shortcomings, guide public opinion, firmly seize the initiative in public discourse, and prevent misleading commentary and negative hype.

Wolong District

In the early hours of May 16, 2023, Nanyuan City's Wolong District witnessed a case of wanton provocation, troublemaking, and indiscriminate slashing of people. The case details are chilling, sparking widespread social concern and creating a negative social impact; the Nanyuan Municipal Party Committee and City Government attached great importance, immediately forming a working group to guide the case investigation, and currently all six suspects have been apprehended.

In response to public doubts about the case's handling outcome, the working group, after strict examination, found favoritism and fraud in the Longgang Police Station's handling of the case. The station chief is currently under investigation, and meanwhile the working group will conduct a thorough investigation into the relevant personnel, the implicated individuals, and their families.

Nanyuan City fully understands society's high level of concern over the case; minors wielding knives to slash people constitute serious violent acts that should be punished strictly according to law, not left unchecked because of age limits. The working group will devote full effort to investigating every clue of illegal and criminal activity involved, striving for clear facts and solid evidence.

In a sudden incident, the public wants the facts disclosed; their aim is simply to obtain direct intervention from the leadership.

Nanyuan's announcement did not scorn public opinion but maintained necessary humility; authoritative departments stepped forward, reacted immediately, first disclosed the facts without hiding problems, then characterized them, and finally stated their stance—with a highly responsible attitude, the courage to take responsibility, and solid pragmatic measures, they won preliminary approval from a broad netizen base.

Xixia County Government

Education and Sports Bureau

Starting in the afternoon of May 21, Nanyuan residents' WeChat Moments began wildly circulating a video of a student being beaten: a gang assault, frenzied punches, kicks to the head; the beaten boy was first knocked down and stepped on, then his head suffered up to 31 slaps. After he rose, he endured successive rounds of slaps from several nearby boys; the video lasts 3 minutes and 44 seconds.

The video's content is shocking, drawing widespread attention and making every parent who sees it feel extremely indignant; the phenomenon of campus violence has again attracted social concern.

The incident occurred in an alley of Xiajia County town, at the turn of an internet cafe's staircase; the assailants were five eighth-grade junior high students from the county middle school, and the victim was an eighth-grade student from the same school.

The Xiajia County Party Committee and County Government immediately ordered the Education and Sports Bureau to set up an incident investigation team, which, together with public security organs, launched an investigation right away. That same day, the Education and Sports Bureau held an emergency meeting to deploy a dragnet-style inspection, using this as a warning to ensure such bullying phenomena would not recur.

County Public Security Bureau

After discovering the public opinion, Xiajia County Party Committee Secretary Xiao Yun immediately reported to Mayor Li Fan and promptly took measures, directing the Education and Sports Bureau to establish an incident investigation team, which, together with the county Public Security Bureau, launched an investigation immediately and deployed a dragnet-style inspection.

On the morning of May 22, the Nanyuan City Government personally came forward and issued a notice: after preliminary investigation, the problem reflected in the Xiajia County video is true (source: public security technical means), the video length is 3 minutes and 44 seconds. No one reported the incident to the police before or after, nor did students or parents inform school leaders or the education department. So far, the implicated students have been preliminarily confirmed as current students and are undergoing questioning; the specific causes of the incident are still under further investigation.

Bystanding is also a form of power; thank you to every enthusiastic netizen of Nanyuan. The Nanyuan Municipal Party Committee and City Government pledge to promptly respond to social concerns, resolutely curb acts that disregard human dignity, organize a tough campaign to prevent and treat bullying, and make campuses the sunniest and safest places.

With public opinion incidents occurring one after another, could it really be coincidence? Li Fan cannot help but suspect whether there is a hidden hand behind the two events; if so, what does he intend to do?

On May 23, another video began to circulate online, still occurring in Nanyuan!

In the video, a girl is violently beaten by a boy; on the teaching building's stairs, he chokes her and slams her head against the wall, beating her severely; the girl faints on the spot, falls to the ground, and the assailant swaggers away. After classmates notice and exclaim, teachers and fellow students gather around, jointly sending the injured to the hospital.

The victim's mother lovingly caresses her daughter, continually wiping tears, and keeps saying, 'My dear girl has a bump the size of an egg on her head from the blow—just looking at it hurts!'

The child's father, standing aside, angrily remarks, 'This will affect the child's psyche for a lifetime; with the college entrance exam approaching, the child suffers bullying at school—it makes one feel both heartbroken and furious!'

After discovering the public opinion, Wolong District Party Committee Secretary Li Yuan immediately intervened, ordering the education and public security departments to investigate and deal with it at once.

After learning of this, Lu Fan fell into deep thought; indeed, such events are painful, but they are not major matters—why are they erupting all at once? Could it be that someone covets the position of Nanyuan City Municipal Party Secretary, deliberately smearing me and obstructing my progress?