China honors woman who died saving Japanese family

A Chinese woman who tried to protect a Japanese mother and her child from a knife attack has died.

Hu Youping was working as a school bus attendant in the city of Suzhou when a man attacked a Japanese woman and her child at a bus stop in front of a Japanese school.

While trying to hold him, she suffered serious injuries.

Tributes for her have poured in online, and the local government has announced that she will be awarded the title of “Righteous and Courageous Role Model.”

The Japanese embassy in China also flew its flag at half-mast to honor Ms. Hu. In a Weibo statement, it said the embassy was “sad” about her death.

“We believe that (Ms Hu’s) courage and kindness also represent the courage of the Chinese people. We pay tribute to her righteous deeds. May she rest in peace,” it said.

There was also a wave of condolences and praise on Chinese social media.

“We will remember your kindness and bravery as you protected the safety of our Japanese friends and preserved the reputation of ordinary Chinese people,” said one comment on Weibo.

Another described Ms Hu as an “ordinary, virtuous and courageous Chinese sister.”

Mother and son were injured in Monday’s attack, but their injuries were not life-threatening. The suspect, a 52-year-old Chinese man, was arrested at the scene.

Chinese officials had said the two attacks were “isolated incidents.”

China’s state-run Global Times newspaper published an editorial on Friday praising Ms Hu and also claiming that “China is undoubtedly still one of the safest countries in the world.”

Separately, the newspaper reported that after the attack, Weibo deleted 759 posts that “incited nationalist sentiments.” These posts contained “extreme opinions” that “promoted group hatred and even applauded criminal behavior in the name of patriotism.”

The knife attack in Suzhou caused great concern among the Japanese population and prompted the embassy to issue a security alert urging its citizens living in China to take precautions when traveling abroad.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the incident was “regrettable” and that it would “continue to take effective measures to seriously protect the safety of all foreigners in China.”

There were a number of knife attacks in China last year.

In May, two people were killed and 10 others injured in such an attack at an elementary school in the southern province of Jiangxi. Another knife attack in the same month at a hospital in Yunnan killed two people and injured 21.

In July last year, six people, including three children, were killed in a stabbing at a kindergarten in the southeastern province of Guangdong.