Several US citizens 'brutally stabbed' in China: latest updates

Jilin Bridge and Century Square in 2004 Credit – Wikimedia Commons

P.Chinese police arrested a suspect Tuesday after four American teachers were stabbed in broad daylight in a Chinese park the day before.

The teachers, who are affiliated with Cornell College of Iowa, a small liberal arts college about two hours east of Des Moines, and were in China as part of a partnership with Beihua University in Jilin, a northeastern province, were “injured in a serious incident” while visiting a public park with a Beihua faculty member, it was announced Monday school President Jonathan Bard in an email to the Cornell community. “We have been in contact with all four instructors and are assisting them during this time,” Bard said, adding that no students are participating in the program.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson acknowledged the incident on Tuesday. He said all victims were “sent to hospital as quickly as possible and received appropriate treatment” and that the matter is under investigation.

Local police issued a notice on Tuesday, according to the Hong Kong newspaper. Sing Tao and Radio Free Asia, which said five people suffered “varying degrees” of non-life-threatening injuries at Beishan Park around 11:40 a.m. Monday. The notice identified the suspect as Cui Dapeng, a man residing in Longtan District, Jilin City. After police announced an arrest hours later, state media reported, a preliminary investigation found that Cui collided with a stranger while walking in the park and proceeded to stab them as well. that three foreigners with them as well as a Chinese tourist who had tried to intervene.

A spokesperson for the US State Department told TIME that it was aware of the killing of three US citizens in Jilin and was closely monitoring the situation. The US ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, published on X on Tuesday that the fourth American is a non-citizen resident and that a consular official visited all the victims in the hospital. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan added that the United States is working with Chinese authorities to “ensure that victims' needs are met and appropriate law enforcement actions are taken.” .

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds posted on [the victims’] “I wish them a full recovery, a safe return and a warm welcome to their families here in the country.”

WE Representative Ashley Hinsonwhose district includes Cornell College, posted on . Representative Mariannette Miller-MeeksAlso a Republican from Iowa, said her office was in contact with one of the affected families and was asking to speak to the U.S. Embassy “to ensure that the victims first receive quality care for their injuries and then leave China in a medically feasible manner.” Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican from Iowa, sent a message similar to Reynolds’.

Iowa state Rep. Adam Zabner told Reuters and CBS News that his brother David was among the victims and that the group was visiting a temple when they were attacked by a man with a knife. David, the state representative said, was “shot in the arm” but is recovering in the hospital and “doing well.” The other victims have not yet been publicly identified.

Videos of the aftermath of the stabbing have circulated on X, showing at least three people lying on the ground covered in blood, surrounded by onlookers. Chinese social media posts about the incident appear to have been censored.

In a since-deleted Weibo post, Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of the state news site World timesaid he hoped the foreign victims were “random targets” and that their stabbing was “accidental.” The suspect's motive remains unclear.

On X, which is banned to the Chinese public but used by many government officials, Chinese companies and state media, Hu posted that he condemned the attack. He also insisted that it was an “isolated case” and stressed that the Chinese public’s general sentiment toward foreigners “is friendly.”

Washington and Beijing have stressed in recent months how increasing people-to-people exchanges, which have declined significantly since the pandemic, can help improve U.S.-China relations, strained by geopolitical tensions.

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