China's Foreign Ministry has characterized the stabbing of four US educators as a random incident, with ongoing investigations underway. The US State Department has affirmed its monitoring of the situation.
China Detains Suspect Involved in Stabbing Assault on American Instructors
Chinese police in the northeastern city of Jilinon announced on Tuesday that a 55-year-old man had been arrested following the stabbing of four university instructors visiting from the United States.
According to the police, the alleged attacker was walking in a public park when he collided with a foreigner, leading to him stabbing the foreigner and three others.
Authorities stated that the incident was random, and none of the victims suffered life-threatening injuries.
"All the wounded were transported to the hospital and received appropriate treatment; none of them are in danger of losing their lives," spokesman Lin Jian informed reporters at the Foreign Ministry's regular afternoon press conference. The group had been touring a temple in the city's Beishan Park when they were attacked by a knife-wielding assailant.
"The police have preliminarily determined that the case was isolated. Further investigation is underway."
"China is widely acknowledged as one of the safest countries in the world," Lin added.
"China will continue to implement relevant measures to effectively ensure the safety of all foreigners in China. This isolated incident will not disrupt the normal progression of China-US people-to-people exchanges," he remarked.
The US State Department stated it would work to ensure the safe return of the lecturers, who were part of an exchange program from Iowa's Cornell College, and that it was closely monitoring the situation.
"We are liaising through proper channels and requesting to communicate with the US Embassy on pertinent matters to ensure that the victims receive quality care for their injuries first and then are able to leave China in a medically feasible manner," posted Iowa's Congress representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Monday was China's Dragon Boat Festival public holiday. Cornell College noted that the instructors were assaulted while visiting the park with a faculty colleague in Beihua, an outlying district of Jilin.
The attack occurred amidst efforts by the US and China to bolster people-to-people exchanges to enhance relations.
Reports of the incident were purportedly suppressed in China, with no news media outlets covering it. A social media hashtag related to the attack appeared to have been blocked on one popular platform.