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By John Feng
China Editor
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Four U.S. exchange teachers from Iowa—among them the sibling of a representative of the state Legislature—were wounded in a stabbing incident in northeastern China on Monday, their college says.
Cornell College, a small liberal arts institute in Mount Vernon, told CBS News that the instructors were injured in "a serious incident" while visiting a park in the city of Jilin on June 10, a public holiday in China.
Jilin is in China's Jilin province, about 580 miles northeast of Beijing. Jonathan Brand, the college's president, said no college students were involved in the trip.
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Iowa state House Representative Adam Zabner told Reuters that his brother, David, was one of the victims, all of whom reportedly survived.
"I spoke to David a few minutes ago, he is recovering from his injuries and doing well. My family is incredibly grateful that David survived this attack," Zabner said.
The four teachers had been invited to Jilin by the city's Beihua University as part of a program that began in 2018, according to Iowa Public Radio. The stabbing happened in Beishan Park, about 4 miles west of the campus.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular press conference in Beijing on Tuesday that the four injured victims were "rushed to hospital" and not in critical condition.
Lin called the attack "an isolated incident," citing a preliminary police assessment.
A statement released by Jilin police later on Tuesday said they had detained a 55-year-old male suspect identified by the last name Cui. Authorities said he stabbed the four foreigners and a fifth victim, a Chinese national who tried to stop the attack, following a "collision" in the park.
The U.S. State Department told Newsweek it was "aware of the stabbing of three U.S. citizens" in Jilin and was "providing all appropriate consular assistance."
"We are in touch with local authorities and are closely monitoring the situation," a spokesperson said.
Nicholas Burns, the U.S. ambassador to Beijing, said on X, formerly Twitter, late on Tuesday local time: "I am angered and deeply troubled by the stabbing of 3 US citizens + a non-citizen resident of Iowa in Jilin, China."
"A US Consular Officer visited the 4 in Jilin Hospital today where they are receiving treatment. We are doing all we can to help them and hope for their full recovery."
A cellphone video, which Newsweek could not independently verify, appeared to show at least three foreign nationals, some covered in blood, lying on the ground following the attack. The footage showed a number of bystanders at the scene.
Posts about the incident were swiftly removed by censors on Weibo, China's largest social networking site, earlier in the day, in a possible sign of the sensitive nature of the incident. The country's tightly regulated state-run press also did not report on the incident until the police statement.
Iowa Representative Ashley Hinson, whose congressional district includes Mount Vernon, said on X late on Monday: "Horrified that multiple Cornell College faculty members were brutally stabbed in China."
"My team has been in communication with Cornell College & will do everything in our power to bring these Iowans home safely. Join me in praying for their health & safety," Hinson said.
Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks, also of Iowa, said earlier in a post that she was in touch with the victims' families as well as the U.S. Embassy in Beijing "to ensure that the victims first receive quality care for their injuries and then get out of #China in a medically feasible manner."
The attack comes amid attempts in Washington and Beijing to restart academic exchanges, which were halted for years during the pandemic.
Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to invite 50,000 young Americans to China in the next five years. U.S. government data suggests there are fewer than 900 studying there now, compared to nearly 300,000 Chinese students in the United States.
When U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing in April, he and Xi "discussed the importance of strengthening ties between the people of the United States and China," according to the State Department.
"The Secretary emphasized the importance of responsible and reciprocal policies to facilitate expanded exchanges between students, scholars, and businesses," department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
Update 6/11/24, 10:10 a.m. ET: This breaking news story was updated with additional information.
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