Four American university professors were injured this Monday in a stabbing that took place in a park in the Chinese city of Jilin, in the northeast of the country, where they were as part of an educational exchange program. The president of the school, Jonathan Brand, has indicated that those affected were with a member of the faculty of the partner institution when they were injured “in a serious incident.” “We have been in contact and we are helping them,” Brand said.
The teachers are employees of the private art university Cornell College, located in the US state of Iowa. The number of attackers and the circumstances of the attack, as well as the extent of the injuries, are unknown at this time. In recordings uploaded to Chinese social networks, at least three of the injured appear lying on the ground, conscious and talking on their mobile phones.
The CNN network has geolocated one of the videos and places the attack in Beishan Park, a popular green space in the center of Jilin, less than half an hour by car from Beihua University, where the four professors carried out their work.
The attack has been confirmed by Lin Jian, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, in a routine appearance this Tuesday in Beijing. In response to questions from the foreign press, Lin assured that, according to the police’s preliminary investigation, this was an isolated incident. The injured, he added, have been taken to hospital and are receiving adequate treatment, and he does not fear for the lives of any of them. The official added that the incident should not affect cultural exchanges between China and the United States.
Adam Zabner, a member of the Iowa House of Representatives, told Reuters that his brother was one of the victims. “My brother, David Zabner, was injured in the arm during a knife attack while visiting a temple in the city of Jilin, China,” he said. “I spoke to David…he is recovering from his injuries and is doing well. “My family is incredibly grateful that David survived this attack,” the politician said.
The identities of the other three teachers have not been revealed at the moment.
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The US State Department has indicated that it is aware of the reports and is monitoring the situation, according to a spokesperson. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian informed reporters at his daily press conference that police are investigating the case, although for the moment and preliminarily, authorities believe it is a “random” incident. ”.
Iowa Representative Ashley Hinson, who represents the district where the home university is located, has claimed that employees “were brutally stabbed.” “My team has been in communication with Cornell College and we will do everything in our power to bring them home safely,” she added. For her part, the governor of Iowa, Kim Reynolds, has indicated that she is in contact with both the state’s federal delegation and the US diplomatic portfolio “in response to this horrible attack.” “Let us pray for their full recovery, their safe return and for their families here at home,” she said.
In the Chinese media, at the moment, not a word is mentioned about the matter, and any search related to the stabbing on social networks only returns a few results. The well-known Chinese political commentator Hu Xijin, former editor of the hardline official newspaper Global Times, He was one of the first to talk about the event openly, through a message published this Tuesday morning on the social network Weibo (the Chinese X), but his comment was deleted shortly after.
In X, where he also has an account, he has condemned the attack. “Regardless of the attacker’s motive, this incident is an isolated case,” says Hu. “The general sentiment of the public towards foreign tourists in markets and tourist places is friendly.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged this year to invite 50,000 young Americans to travel to China for study programs that boost people-to-people contact. The State Department maintains, however, in its communications for potential travelers to China a level three advisory that warns of possible arbitrary detentions and prohibitions on leaving the country. There are currently around 900 American students in China compared to more than 290,000 Chinese in the United States, according to data from the North American Administration.
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