Editor’s note: The attack that took place at Kunming train station last weekend has rocked China to its core. All major newspaper picked up the story but during this past week Chinese media has denounced them and foreign government for their unwillingness to describe the attack as terrorism. The following article, translated from ifeng, compares the language used by two British and two American media when describing the Kunming attack and the London’s Woolwich attack, which took place last May. It should be noted that the US later came out and described what happened in Kunming as “an act of terrorism.” 

Source: aweigend

Source: satguru

After the March 1 terrorist attack at the Kunming train station, Yunnan, CNN and other Western media were collectively “blind” and deaf, or they neglected their duty, when talking about the sudden and violent terrorist nature of the violent force. A year before, when the “London stabbing incident occurred” the wording used by the newspapers painted the picture of a completely different scene. 

Incident Description: The Kunming Train Station Attack

The attacks in Kunming happened on March 1, 2014 at 21:20. A group of 10 attackers carrying knives formulated an attack at the train station in Kunming, Yunnan. The attackers wounded and killed people in the crowd waiting in line for tickets. 29 people were killed in the attacks and 143 were wounded. Police were able to kill 4 of the attackers and arrested 1 of them on the scene.

Incident Description: London’s Woolwich Stabbing

The London attack happened on May 22, 2013. In Woolwich on the east side of London there was a savage attack. According to police reports, two men ran the victim over with their car and then used knives to stab him to death. The British government announced that the attack was a terrorist attack.

A Comparison: Words Used in Determining the Nature of the Attacking

Foreign Media	The Kunming Attack	The Woolwich Attack
BBC	Knife Attack	Terror Attack
The Telegraph	Violence	Terrorism
CNN	Knife-Wielding	Terrorism
Fox News	Uighur-Han Conflicts	Terrorist Attack

A Comparison: Words Used to Describe the Attack

Foreign Media	The Kunming Attack	The Woolwich Attack
BBC	Incident	Long-feared attack
The Telegraph	Knife-wielding	Truly barbaric
CNN	Mass stabbing	Brutality
Fox News	Rudimentary in weaponry	Brutally murdered

What was the US government’s stance

March 2, 2014:
The US Embassy and the US State Department individually reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Chinese Embassy in the US. They told the high officials that they were shocked over this grave and violent event and China’s losses. The US denounced the cruel, violent behavior of the attackers. The US government asked for punishment from the Chinese government and expressed grief towards the murdered victims as well as those who were injured and the families impacted.

May 23, 2013:
The day after the murder in London, President Obama, with “stern wording” condemned the stabbing incident that had happened in the London streets. He emphasized the US’s firm stance in standing together against extremism and terrorist activity.

Source: ifeng.com

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Keywords: “an act of terrorism” Kunming knife attack; Woolwich attack how foreign media described Kunming attack