There Was a Baby in that Stolen Car

Changchun, March 4, 2013, a silver Toyota RAV-4 was stolen around 7 o'clock while the driver left the car idling to a roadside convenience store. There was a two month old baby named Haobo Xu in that car.

One day later, the carjacker turned himself in after learning police had been looking for the car. According to the guy, his target was the car. He headed off to Shuangliao Highway after taking the car. When he saw there was a baby in the back seat on his way, he took a detour to a remote route where he killed little Haobo with his bare hands. He then hid the small body in the snow before resumed his trip to Gongzhuling. Police recovered the baby's body at the location told by the carjacker.

While we mourn for the baby's death, we are deeply troubled by the former senior army officer's thought that killing a two month old baby was a less crime than stealing a $30,000 car. How was this person made?

Zhou Xijun, born 1964, is in police custody. Zhou was a Major in the PLA army. Zhou was originally from Gongzhuling, but holds Changchun residence (hukou).

If mass killing of infants and babies by family planning officials went unpunished (on the contrary, they have been rewarded with salary, promotion and national honors), how should anyone be surprised?

This is a time, when every Chinese in mainland and abroad must reflect on the political hierarchy, national policies, judicial practice, and, our own culture. At the moment, The Seagull is ashamed of being a Chinese for the incomprehensible crime committed by another Chinese and also for living under such an inhumane system without putting up a fight.

A carjacking took place in Bronx of New York City last month under a similar circumstance, but ended with the safe return of the baby and the car as reported by the New York Post. A still at-large car thief sneaked in the car when the father stepped outside to talk to the mother. Having realized there was a baby on board, the perp called police from a roadside payphone before fled on foot into the darkness.

In a normal society, having a baby on board would be the worst nightmare for a carjacker, other than getting caught. That is the way it should have been.

Update: The Communist Party's Central Propaganda Department just issued a directive to all media outlets, which limited further reporting on this criminal case. The ordinance read:

......
• media should not question police's inaction;
• should not demand using the system monitoring political dissidents on missing children;
• should not display sorrow or sadness;
• should not interview the victim's family and authorities regarding this case;
......

We could only speculate the Party did not want distraction from the annual Congressional session in Beijing which would last two weeks from yesterday.

The Party did not kill little Haobo, but the message conveyed has been consistent. Was anyone surprised?

It is the system. It is 'the firm'. With the gag order on media coverage, the Communist Party pointed out who had manufactured beasts like Zhou Xijun. Do we choose to live under their ruling, or put up a fight? Do we still present asleep and not seeing a thing?