- The Cornell College educators were on a teaching exchange program.
- One of the victims is the brother of a prominent Iowa Democrat.
Four visiting college professors from Iowa were brutally stabbed in an attack in China Tuesday morning.
Cornell College educators were on a teaching exchange program with a partner university, Beihua, in the city of Jilin.
Iowa Rep. Adam Zabner told Reuters his brother was one of the victims at Cornell College in Iowa.
“My brother, David Zabner, was injured in the arm during a stabbing 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 group was visiting a temple in Beishan Park when they were attacked by a man with a knife, he added. There were no reports of a motive.
Victim Adam Zabner photographed on his Facebook page
A video of people lying on the ground in a park covered in blood circulated on Monday, although no trace of the images could be found on Chinese social media.
Reuters was able to identify the location of the video based on Chinese characters written on a wall, the structure of the wall and the layout of the road, but could not confirm when the video was recorded.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said in an emailed statement that they were aware of reports of a “stabbing incident” in Jilin, China, and were monitoring the situation.
Chinese authorities have not issued any statements regarding the incident nor have any reports been found in Chinese media. Some remaining posts on Chinese social media platform Weibo questioned the widespread censorship of the incident in official media.
“Do you really think that censoring internal discussion about the incident affects foreigners’ decision to visit China or not?” a Weibo user posted.
Cornell College educators were on a teaching exchange program with a partner university, Beihua, in the city of Jilin.
“We are working through the appropriate channels and requesting to speak with the US embassy on appropriate matters to ensure that the victims first receive quality care for their injuries and then leave China in a medically viable manner,” the representative said. Iowa Congress, Mariannette Miller-Meeks. she wrote in X.
Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged this year to invite 50,000 young Americans to China for study programs that boost people-to-people ties, but a State Department Level 3 travel warning to China remains in effect, warning against possible arbitrary arrests and exit bans.
There are currently fewer than 900 American exchange students studying in China compared to more than 290,000 Chinese students in the United States, according to US data.