lørdag 16. november 2024

When horror hits China, the first instinct is shut it down

The gates outside the Zhuhai sports complex in China were closed. Inside, the stadium was in darkness, as were the grounds around it. It was here, hours before, where dozens of people were killed when a man drove an SUV into a crowd. Many more were injured.

Only security guards appeared to be moving around behind the fence when the BBC arrived, and they had been ordered to keep an eye out for reporters. One approached us asking: "Are you journalists?" When I asked why he wanted to know, he replied: "Oh just to understand the situation." He and a colleague took photos of us and started making calls, watching us as they did. Outside the gates people passed by to catch sight of the aftermath. But among them was a group of around a dozen people more interested in us.

A women started calling to the others: "Look, foreigners, foreigners." Soon a man who was with her was aggressively interrupting our reporting, grabbing me and shouting.