China Takes Active Approach to Curb School Attacks

The recent attack at a kindergarten in China's Jiangsu Province has affected everyone deeply. People have to question the ability of schools to safeguard students' safety, as well as the slowness of emergency services in dealing with such events. How to prevent and control tragedies of this nature is a burning issue now facing the Chinese government.

Our reporter Zhao Jianfu tells us more.
With schools falling victim to acts of violence, people have come to acknowledge that even schools are incredibly vulnerable. The recent attack at a kindergarten in Jiangsu is just another case in point.

Many parents are concerned about the inability of schools to prevent and control such tragedies, as well as the slowness of police in dealing with them.

"After the attack, the kindergarten was in total chaos. People were screaming and shouting all over the place."

In the wake of this most recent attack, the Ministry of Education has taken swift action to set up a special panel consisting of 22 well-known experts to manage emergencies. This panel is supposed to offer immediate expertise on how to cope with any emergency situation, so that whatever event can be dealt with swiftly and efficiently.

Ma Ai, law professor at China University of Political Science and Law, praises what the education ministry has done.

"The Ministry of Education is taking the appropriate action. It is believed that many schools will come up with their own measures to respond to emergencies."

Professor Ma further says that although dealing with the aftermath of such tragedies is a necessary step, taking preventative measures matters more.

"We should take more measures to increase safety in our schools, such as deploying more guards on campus to look out for any warning signs. That way we will be proactive rather than reactive in dealing with violence."

Since China is in a state of transition, large portions of society find themselves encountering unexpected problems. In some cases, when there is nowhere else to turn, individuals take extreme actions.

Professor Ma also emphasizes that social fairness and justice cannot be ignored. People should have the ability to voice their opinions and complaints. Various channels should be available to settle people's complaints, so that they will not feel helpless and thus resort to such drastic countermeasures.

For CRI, I'm Zhao Jianfu.