Helen Raleigh writes for the Federalist about a disturbing development in communist China.
Last November, during the U.S.-China summit in San Francisco, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping announced a plan to invite 50,000 young Americans to exchange programs to study in China over the next five years. But any Americans considering taking up Xi’s offer may want to think again after four instructors from a U.S. college were stabbed in broad daylight in China last week.
The four instructors, including three U.S. citizens, are affiliated with Cornell College in Iowa (not Cornell University in New York). They are teaching at Beihua University in Jilin, a northeastern city in China, through an exchange program funded by Beihua. According to Jilin’s police report, on the morning of June 11, the four instructors were walking in a popular public park when a 55-year-old local man, Cui, “collided” with one of the instructors. Cui started stabbing the instructors and a Chinese citizen who tried to stop him. Police apprehended Cui quickly. All five victims were rushed to a local hospital. Fortunately, no one suffered life-threatening injuries.
Chinese police didn’t publicly share Cui’s motive for such a vicious attack. Chinese government censors quickly took down any images related to the stabbing incident and suppressed related news reports and online discussions. China’s foreign ministry spokesman insisted the whole thing was an “isolated incident” and “China is widely regarded as one of the safest countries in the world.”
It’s true that average Chinese citizens’ violence against foreigners has been sporadic in China. Most foreigners I know who traveled to China said the best part of their visits has always been the friendliness and hospitality of the Chinese people. However, it’s disheartening to note that some Chinese citizens’ welcoming attitude toward foreigners has turned into hostility due to the Chinese Communist Party’s campaign against foreign espionage.
Nationalism has been on the rise since Xi became the head of the CCP.
The post Thinking Twice About Exchange Programs With China first appeared on John Locke Foundation.
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Author: Mitch Kokai
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