Photo Essay: Rise in Teen Violence in China Rekindles Pain for Parents of Slain Daughter

A murder in Hebei province, where a teenage boy was killed by three classmates and buried in a greenhouse, shocked China, spotlighting the rise in violent juvenile crime and bringing back trauma for a mother in Dalian whose daughter was murdered by a juvenile nearly five years ago [para. 1].

On October 20, 2019, 10-year-old Qiqi was lured by her neighbor Cai, a 13-year-old boy, into his home, where he sexually assaulted and killed her [para. 2]. Qiqi's mother, He Meiling, has been overwhelmed with self-blame, thinking about how the tragedy might have been avoided if certain actions were taken differently [para. 3]. For the first two years after the murder, He struggled with depression, physical symptoms of grief, and chronic insomnia. Meanwhile, Qiqi's father, Wang Jiuzhang, and elder brother have largely internalized their grief [para. 4][para. 5][para. 6].

Cai, despite being identified and confessing to the crime, could not be held criminally responsible due to his age, as per Article 17 of China’s Criminal Law. He was instead sent to a juvenile rehabilitation center for three years [para. 8][para. 9]. In 2020, the court ordered Cai’s parents to compensate Qiqi’s parents over 1.28 million yuan and make a public apology. However, they were detained for not attending court proceedings, and their house was auctioned unsuccessfully twice, now left empty by Qiqi’s parents [para. 10].

In response to such crimes, an amendment to China’s Criminal Law in December 2020 lowered the age of criminal liability to 12 for specific heinous crimes, effective March 1, 2021 [para. 12]. Although He sought to prosecute Cai under the new law, it wasn’t applicable retroactively [para. 13]. The recent teen murder case in Hebei has reopened old wounds for Qiqi’s family, who frequently express support on social media for the victim's family [para. 14]. In April 2023, Hebei prosecutors sought the Supreme People's Procuratorate’s approval to charge the three juveniles involved in that case [para. 15].

Chinese authorities have noted a rise in youth crimes. In 2023, judicial offices handled 97,000 juvenile cases with minors under 16 responsible for 10,000. Violent and serious crimes comprised 70% of these cases, while a lenient approach was taken for less severe offenses [para. 16][para. 17].

In 2022, He and her husband leased a 1.15-acre orchard in Dalian to escape the city's distress and focus on planting over 400 fruit trees [para. 18]. Despite living in basic conditions, the work provides them peace and distraction from sorrow [para. 19]. Due to her poor health, He engages in light work while Wang handles arduous tasks, though memories of their daughter are never far. The family spends most of their time in the orchard, only returning to Dalian during holidays or to honor their daughter [para. 21][para. 22].

This story highlights the deep emotional scars left by violent crimes and the ongoing struggles and legal developments in juvenile justice in China. The case has prompted national discussions on juvenile crime and the effectiveness of existing punitive measures for young offenders.