Editorial | China stabbings no reason to deter visits
- Jilin park attack on instructors from US college should be seen as an isolated incident as exchanges between two nations start to thaw
The shocking news that four instructors from an American college were stabbed while visiting a park in northeast China will raise concerns about personal safety among visitors to the country, and perhaps will prompt some to put off their travel plans for a while, or for good. Thankfully, authorities say injuries suffered are not life threatening and the victims are being treated at a Jilin hospital.
It is to be hoped that they will make a complete and swift recovery.
The attack was undoubtedly traumatic and harrowing for the instructors from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. An initial investigation by police had determined it was “an isolated incident”, the foreign ministry said.
A 55-year-old Chinese man has been detained. Police said the suspect had been walking in Beishan Park on Monday and “collided with a foreigner”, whom he stabbed with a knife, and then proceeded to stab the other three.
A Chinese tourist who tried to stop the attack was also injured, and one can only hope they too will recover soon. The motive for the attack was unclear.