Knife Attack at Kunming Railway Station in China

[Matt O]

According to news reports, this evening ten men (identities not yet known) armed with knives carried out an attack at the Kunming railway station which left at least 33 people dead and well over a 100 wounded. Four of the terrorists were shot dead and one was captured, with the other five still at large.The Chinese government is blaming the attack on Uyghur separatists, though that's the standard response for any unexplained attack in China so we'll have to wait and see what details emerge.

Either way it's a sad event and illustrates the carnage that can be unleashed on an unarmed and unaware crowd of people even with comparatively unsophisticated weapons and techniques.

Source articles: Reuters, BBC

[will_1400]

According to news reports, this evening ten men (identities not yet known) armed with knives carried out an attack at the Kunming railway station which left at least 33 people dead and well over a 100 wounded. Four of the terrorists were shot dead and one was captured, with the other five still at large.The Chinese government is blaming the attack on Uyghur separatists, though that's the standard response for any unexplained attack in China so we'll have to wait and see what details emerge.

Either way it's a sad event and illustrates the carnage that can be unleashed on an unarmed and unaware crowd of people even with comparatively unsophisticated weapons and techniques.

Source articles: Reuters, BBC

Wait, I thought the PAP and the MSS were there to prevent those things from happening? Also China clearly needs to ban any object that can hold an edge or be used as a piercing weapon!


Sarcasm aside, I offer my prayers to the victims and their families; may they find justice and peace.

[ToddG]

Also China clearly needs to ban any object that can hold an edge or be used as a piercing weapon!

Out of laziness just cutting and pasting something I said on Facebook a couple minutes ago:

I think all the "guns don't kill, knives do" and "now they'll want to ban knives" comments we're seeing are falling right into the anti's hands. We shouldn't be framing this issue in terms of what the bad guys had or didn't have. We should be framing it in terms of WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A DISARMED POPULACE IS PLACED IN DANGER.

When the police showed up and started shooting, the BGs scattered. What if just one of those commuters had a gun when this all started? Sure, I wouldn't want to face down ten sword-wielding maniacs by myself but if I had to I'm quite certain I'd rather do it with a 9mm in my hand...

[Matt O]

Also China clearly needs to ban any object that can hold an edge or be used as a piercing weapon!

Somehow I wouldn't put it past the Chinese gov.

Interesting and somewhat related anecdote, I actually bought a locally-made knife at a bazaar when I was in Kashgar years ago (because everyone in the countryside in Xinjiang has a knife on their belt for cutting up lamb, obviously) and we ended up putting it in my wife's checked bag (she's Chinese) for our flight back to Beijing. Somehow it got flagged in the x-ray machine as they were sending the checked luggage through and an irate security guard came over to read my wife the riot act. When I informed him that I was the one who had actually purchased the knife he basically said, "well if you put it in your luggage then it's fine, but it's illegal for her to do so."

I couldn't quite wrap my brain around how that policy made any logical sense, but then again Xinjiang is kinda a different place. Armed patrols on the streets, armed checkpoints on the highways and a palpable tension in the air. Caucasians are not viewed as outsiders in Xinjiang as much as Han Chinese people are. My wife got hostile looks while we were there, whereas people were as warm as could be to me when I'd chat with them in Uyghur.

[Matt O]

We should be framing it in terms of WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A DISARMED POPULACE IS PLACED IN DANGER.

Agreed! That's absolutely the key take away for this or any other related incident.

[Josh Runkle]

China just needs to ban people...oh, wait.

[TGS]

When the police showed up and started shooting, the BGs scattered. What if just one of those commuters had a gun when this all started? Sure, I wouldn't want to face down ten sword-wielding maniacs by myself but if I had to I'm quite certain I'd rather do it with a 9mm in my hand...

I don't think it is as effective as pointing out the flaw in their thinking. When someone says, "What if one of them had a gun?" the standard response seems to be, "Chris Kyle is proof that a good guy with a gun is not the answer."

I couldn't quite wrap my brain around how that policy made any logical sense, but then again Xinjiang is kinda a different place. Armed patrols on the streets, armed checkpoints on the highways and a palpable tension in the air.

Armed patrols by who, doing what, for what reason? Every US state has armed checkpoints on the highways and armed patrols on the streets, too.

[SteveV]

I travel to China frequently on business. I have seen newspaper articles about knife buy-back programs similar to our gun buy-back programs in the US. It is a vision of what is to come here I am afraid. As soon as guns are gone - knives will become the new "evil." In China - there was a limit on the length of the blade (I guess it's sort of like magazine capacity for guns!). I have traveled to China 45 times over the last 3 years, and I have never seen a police officer with a gun. Not sure who is supposed to come to the rescue when an attack like this happens, but for the most part, you are on your own. Of course - you are on your own here as well. One person well trained with a knife can create carnage. Can't imagine how horrible it would be to have 10 people with knives coming at you.

[ToddG]

I keep hearing Tam's voice asking, "what gun for ninja?"

[Matt O]

Armed patrols by who, doing what, for what reason? Every US state has armed checkpoints on the highways and armed patrols on the streets, too.

By who? I don't know if it was by the PAP or the military (PAP usually wear black with the telltale 武警 emblazoned on the back which was absent) and I didn't decide to go over and ask them for "zee papers." They were carrying QBZ-95's and/or riot shields and on patrol in groups of 5-6 walking through the streets of Kashgar. Keep in mind that regular police in China aren't armed. I've encountered PAP stationed on certain corners/streets in Beijing in the lead up to politically sensitive events or holidays, but I've never seen them patrolling around the city. Why were they doing this? I'm guessing the riots in Urumqi in 2009 had something to do with it, among other things.

And when I'm talking about armed checkpoints, I'm referring to machine gun nest emplacements, mirrors under cars, another layer of passport/permit and Q&A control, etc. All just to travel into the mountains outside Kashgar. That hasn't generally correlated much with my experience of armed checkpoints on the highways here. Either that or the Shenandoahs are way under-protected.