- Cornell College faculty participated in a teaching exchange program
- One of the victims is the brother of a prominent Iowa Democrat
Four visiting college instructors from Iowa were brutally stabbed in an attack in China on Tuesday morning.
Cornell College faculty participated in a teaching exchange program with a partner university, Beihua, in Jilin City.
Iowa Representative Adam Zabner told Reuters that his brother was among the victims from Cornell College in Iowa.
“My brother, David Zabner, was wounded in the arm in a stabbing attack while visiting a temple in Jilin City, China,” he said.
“I’ve spoken to David… he’s recovering from his injuries and doing well. My family is incredibly grateful that David survived this attack.”
The group had visited a temple in Beishan Park when they were attacked by a man with a knife, he added. There were no reports of a motive.
Victim Adam Zabner pictured on his Facebook page
On Monday, a video of people lying on the ground covered in blood in a park circulated on X, although no trace of the footage could be found on Chinese social media.
Reuters was able to identify the location of the video based on Chinese characters written on a wall, the structure of the wall and the layout of the path, but could not confirm when the video was recorded.
A US State Department spokesperson said in an emailed statement that they were aware of reports of a “stabbing incident” in Jilin, China, and were monitoring the situation.
No statements regarding the incident have been issued by Chinese authorities or reports found in Chinese media. A few surviving posts on Chinese social media platform Weibo questioned the widespread censorship of the incident in official media.
“Do they really think that censoring domestic discussion about the incident will affect whether foreigners choose to visit China or not?” one Weibo user posted.
Cornell College faculty participated in a teaching exchange program with a partner university, Beihua, in Jilin City.
“We are working through the appropriate channels and request to speak with the U.S. Embassy on appropriate matters to ensure that victims first receive quality care for their injuries and are then able to leave China in a medically feasible manner,” said Mariannette Miller-Meeks, representative of Congress in Iowa. wrote on X.
Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to invite 50,000 young Americans to China this year for study programs to strengthen people-to-people ties, but a Foreign Ministry travel advisory to China warning of possible arbitrary detention and exit bans remains in effect.
According to U.S. data, there are currently fewer than 900 American exchange students studying in China, compared to more than 290,000 Chinese students in the United States.
