Violence against schoolchildren is unforgivable

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Editor's note: Li Yunlong is an opinion editor with CGTN Digital. The article reflects the author's opinion, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Anything, no matter negative or positive, relating to children will always grab the public's attention.

Unfortunately, a violent attack targeting children cropped up in a primary school in Xicheng District, Beijing and set off shock waves on January 8, 2019. The attack injured a score of primary school students in varying degrees and they have been immediately sent to the hospital.

The sudden disaster which left 3 badly injured and 17 wounded was caused by a 49-year-old maintenance employee, recruited by the primary school and is now in custody. It's reported that the attacker committed the crime to vent his dissatisfaction about his labor dispatching company refusing to renew his contract with him.

What awaits the man is certainly severe punishment as there's no excuse to exculpate this offender who had the intention of injuring innocent schoolchildren.

It's true that, in any case, no matter how difficult it is to survive in the world and how frustrating life is, it is never a valid reason for violent crime against a completely unrelated and vulnerable group. But the first thing we should focus on is the serious consequences and the irreparable harm, and the most important thing to care about is the victims and their families.

Without doubt, parents of the victims are feeling tremendous sorrow. The rest of the children gather in front of the school gate weeping as if sobbing out their rage. However, when such violent crimes against children occur, language can't describe the degree of people's indignation as a child is the core of every family.

Chairs and desks in a classroom /VCG Photo

However these types of incidents are definitely not exclusive in China.

According to a recent report by a non-profit school security organization, Educator's School Safety Network, a total of 279 violent incidents occurred on campuses across the United States during 2017-2018 academic year, an increase of 131 from the previous year, which shows an increase of 113 percent.

In terms of dealing with the situation, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the STOP School Violence Act in March, 2018, which will provide over 1 billion U.S. dollars to schools and local governments over the next 10 years to purchase tools, such as metal detectors, and on some projects to prevent the occurrence of violent incidents.

Looking back at primary-school violence in Beijing, retrospection is absolutely needed.

For the school, why are school security guards failing to prevent students from being harmed? Should all schools conduct a thorough inspection of their security and defense system on a regular basis?

For the government, what is the best way to protect children's safety on campus? Security enhancement in schools is not merely a slogan to call for, and instead, practical actions should be taken.

It is also worth noticing that social management systems ought to ponder how to avoid making extreme emotional problems develop into vicious revenge, and how to relieve dissatisfaction, anger and even hatred in time so that it does not harm innocent people.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)