It was confirmed on Monday that four Iowa college instructors teaching in China were attacked in a reported stabbing while they were visiting a public park.
This was according to the President of Cornell College Jonathan Brand, who said the instructors had been at the park with one member of faculty from Beihua University during the attack. Speaking via email, Jen Visser, Cornell’s spokesperson disclosed that this private school located at Mount Vernon has teamed up with Beihua University which is situated near Jilin City in northeastern China.
A statement from the State Department asserts that it is aware of reports of a stabbing and that it is monitoring the situation.The extent of injuries to these tutors and whether or not this assault was deliberate or random remained unknown today. The college spokeswoman said more information about what happened is still being gathered by Cornell.
In a social media post, US Representative Mariannette Jane Miller-Meeks from Iowa says she is attempting to contact the US embassy as soon as possible so good health care can be received by the victims while returning home.
The attack coincided when both Beijing and Washington are looking forward to keeping people-to-people exchange going so as to prevent bilateral relations from plummeting.
According to Chinese President Xi Jinping, 50,000 young Americans will be invited over in China over next five years; at least this is what Chinese diplomats claim after reportedly discouraging Americans through US department travel advisory for domestic travelling.
The second highest-level warning — Level 3 travel advisory has been issued by State Department against mainland China citing arbitrary detentions and exit bans that could trap some U.S citizens inside its boundaries forcing many American universities to suspend their programs’ activities in China.
