Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun

When asked about details of the incident in Shanghai on Tuesday involving Japanese nationals being injured, Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that on May 19, at a restaurant in Shanghai, a person with mental disorder injured one Chinese and two Japanese nationals with a knife.

Guo said the wounded have been immediately taken to the hospital, adding that the suspect was captured by the police and the case is under further investigation. It's an individual case concerning public safety. Competent Chinese authorities will handle the case in accordance with the law, he added.

Several major Japanese media outlets including the Asahi Shimbun, The Japan Times and NHK News have covered the incident, yet failed to highlight that it was an isolated case. The Asahi Shimbun even deliberately claimed that Japanese nationals residing in China expressed "a sense of anxiety."

Addressing a follow-up question about the incident, Guo stated that the competent Chinese authorities have put out a statement and it is an individual case concerning public safety.

The attacker has been identified as a person with mental disorder. Relevant authorities are investigating and handling the case in accordance with the law, Guo said. 

"I must warn against the dangerous tendency by a few media outlets and individuals to make false associations and hype up the incident," the spokesperson said.


Global Times