BEIJING (Reuters) – Four American professors from a small university in Iowa were wounded in a stabbing attack in a public park in northeastern China's Jilin province on Monday, according to US media and US government officials.
Iowa State Representative Adam Zapner told Reuters that his brother was one of the victims from Cornell College in Iowa.
He added: “My brother, David Zabner, was injured in the arm during a stabbing attack while visiting a temple in Jilin, China.”
“I have spoken to David…he is recovering from his injuries and doing well. My family is very grateful that David survived this attack.”
He added that the group was visiting a temple in Bishan Park when a man attacked them with a knife. There were no reports of a motive.
A video of people lying on the ground in a park covered in blood circulated on X on Monday, although no trace of the images was found on Chinese social media.
Reuters was able to determine the location of the video based on the Chinese characters written on the wall, the structure of the wall, and the layout of the route, but was unable to confirm when the video was filmed.
A US State Department spokesperson said in an emailed statement that they are aware of reports of a “stabbing incident” in Jilin, China, and are monitoring the situation.
The Chinese authorities did not issue any statements about the incident or the reports in the Chinese media. Some remaining posts on Chinese social media platform Weibo (NASDAQ:) questioned widespread censorship of the incident in state media.
“Do they really think that censoring local discussion of the incident affects whether or not foreigners choose to visit China?” one Weibo user posted.
The teachers were from Cornell College on a teaching exchange program with a partner university, Beihua, in the city of Jilin.
“We are working through the appropriate channels and are asking to speak with the U.S. Embassy on appropriate matters to ensure that victims first receive quality care for their injuries and then exit China in a medically feasible manner,” said Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a congressional representative from Iowa. Written on X.
Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged this year to invite 50,000 young Americans to China to attend study programs to enhance people-to-people relations, but the State Department's Level 3 travel advisory for China warning of the possibility of arbitrary detention and exit bans remains in place.
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.