Four American teachers who were stabbed in a park in Jilin, China, have reunited with their families in the country or continued their summer travels.
These four teachers are from Cornell College in Iowa. The college’s president, Jonathan Brand, stated that all four teachers have resumed their summer plans.
On June 10, these four teachers and a Chinese national were stabbed by a man in a park in Jilin Province, with police stating that one of the teachers collided with the attacker.
According to a statement released by Brand on June 18, some of these teachers have reunited with their families, while others have continued with their previously arranged travel plans.
Brand’s full statement reads:
“Dear Cornell Community,
I am pleased to inform you that the four teachers involved in the incident in China have all reunited with their families or continued with their previously arranged summer travel plans. Thank you for your tremendous support. We want to remind everyone that our Cornell College is a community that cares for one another.
Many individuals and organizations of various professions have shown concern for our teachers and made contributions – including those from China and the United States.
We are grateful for the support from our colleagues at Beihua University. Thanks to our state and federal lawmakers and the State Department for their efforts in assisting our teachers and their families.”
The stabbing of these four American teachers has sparked global attention. While firearms are strictly controlled in China, knife attacks are not uncommon. China has seen a series of knife attacks in public places such as schools and hospitals. However, public assaults targeting foreigners are rare.
There have been two attacks on foreigners in China this month. On Monday, June 24, a Chinese man stabbed a Japanese mother and son at a school bus station in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. The Japanese government has expressed concern over the incident.