Cornell University lecturers attacked in China reunited with their families

Teachers were attacked during a trip to a park in China

All four Cornell College lecturer stabbed to death last week in the northeastern Chinese city of Jilin were reunited with family members or were able to continue their previously planned summer travel plans, according to the college.

Jonathan Brand, the president of Cornell University, sent out a brief statement on Tuesday updating those on campus.

“Many individuals and organizations with diverse expertise, both in China and the United States, have contributed to the care of our faculty,” Brand said in the statement. “We appreciate the support of our colleagues at Beihua University and thank our state and federal legislators and the Department of State for their efforts to assist our faculty and their families.”

The lecturers taught as part of a Partnership program between Mount Vernon College and Beihua University in China when they were attacked while walking in a public park on June 10.

The lecturers were accompanied by a faculty member from Beihua at the time of the attack. According to the school, no students from the small liberal arts college were participating in the program at the time.

Jilin City Police announced last week that 55-year-old suspect arrested. Authorities identified the suspect only by his surname, Cui. Police said he “collided with a foreigner while walking” in Beishan Park. The suspect then stabbed the teachers as well as a Chinese tourist who stepped forward to intervene, police said in a statement.

The statement did not provide any information about the motive for the attack.

The injured were taken to hospital for treatment. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said last week that none of the foreign nationals were seriously injured. According to preliminary assessments, this was apparently an isolated case.

The attack came as Chinese and U.S. officials seek to expand people-to-people exchanges to strengthen ties amid tensions over trade, Taiwan, the South China Sea and the war in Ukraine.

Cornell spokeswoman Jen Visser declined to comment Tuesday on the partnership program between Cornell College and Beihua University.

Visser said neither the university administration nor the injured lecturers were willing to speak to the media about the attack.

Iowa City native and Cornell professor David Zabner was released from the hospital in Jilin City last Wednesday and flew to Cedar Rapids late Thursday to meet with his family.

Zabner, a doctoral student at Tufts University who previously taught at Cornell University, was stabbed in the arm while visiting a temple in Beishan Park.

A family member said Tuesday he was not ready to speak to the media.

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