Beijing (AFP) – Four American college instructors working in China were wounded in a stabbing at a public park, their employer said, with Beijing Tuesday describing it as an “isolated” incident.
The four were on an academic exchange and worked as instructors at Iowa’s Cornell College, which said they were wounded in a “serious incident”.
Beijing on Tuesday confirmed that “four foreign teachers” had been attacked.
“All the wounded were sent to the hospital…and received proper treatment; none of them are in danger of losing their life,” spokesman Lin Jian told reporters at the foreign ministry’s regular afternoon press conference.
“The police preliminarily judged that the case was isolated. Further investigation is under way.”
“China is generally recognised as one of the safest countries in the world,” Lin added. “China…will continue to take relevant measures to effectively protect the safety of all foreigners in China.”
“This isolated case will not affect the normal development of China-US people-to-people exchanges,” he said.
Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson said on X she was “horrified” that the Cornell College faculty members had been “brutally stabbed”. Governor Kim Reynolds said she was “in touch with Iowa’s federal delegation and the state department in response to this horrifying attack”.
“Please pray for their full recovery, safe return, and their families here at home,” she added.
A US State Department spokesperson said they were “aware of reports of a stabbing incident in Jilin, People’s Republic of China”. Jilin provincial authorities have not commented on the attack.
© 2024 AFP
