MOUNT VERNON, Iowa — Four Iowa college instructors teaching in China were attacked in a stabbing attack while visiting a public park, Cornell College and the U.S. State Department confirmed Monday.
Cornell College President Jonathan Brand said in a statement that the instructors were in the park with a Beihua University faculty member when the attack occurred. Cornell spokesperson Jen Visser said in an email that the private school in Mount Vernon partners with Beihua University near Jilin City in northeastern China.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it was aware of reports of a stabbing and was monitoring the situation. Details about the extent of the instructors’ injuries and whether the attack was targeted or random were unclear Monday. Visser said the council was still gathering information about what happened.
U.S. Rep. Mariannette Jane Miller-Meeks of Iowa wrote in a social media post that she was trying to reach the U.S. Embassy to ensure the victims receive proper health care and return to the U.S. as soon as possible.
The attack came as both Beijing and Washington tried to maintain people-to-people exchanges to prevent bilateral ties from collapsing.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has unveiled a plan to invite 50,000 young Americans to China over the next five years, while Chinese diplomats say a US State Department travel advisory has discouraged Americans from going to China.
Citing arbitrary detentions and exit bans that could deter Americans from leaving the country, the State Department issued a Level 3 travel advisory — the second-highest alert level — for mainland China, urging Americans to to ‘reconsider’ traveling there. Some U.S. universities have suspended their China programs because of the travel advisory.