Chinese Foreign Minister mourns Japanese boy and stresses that knife attack was an isolated incident

Photo: fmprc.gov.cn

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman on Thursday mourned the death of a boy, a Japanese national, who was stabbed to death in Shenzhen on Wednesday. The spokesman stressed that the Chinese government never tolerates illegal or violent activities and will investigate the case and bring the perpetrator to justice.

“We regret and are saddened by this tragic incident,” said Lin Jian, the ministry's spokesman, at the press conference on Thursday. “We mourn the boy's death and our thoughts are with his family.”

Lin said the boy is a Japanese citizen and his father and mother are Japanese and Chinese citizens respectively.

After the attack, the boy was immediately taken to hospital and Guangdong Province sent medical experts to do its utmost to rescue him. The Chinese side will also provide his family with the necessary support to deal with related matters, Lin said.

The case is still under investigation and the relevant authorities in China will handle it in accordance with the law.

In response to a media question about the incident in June this year when a Japanese preschool boy was the victim of a knife attack in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu province, Lin said the Shenzhen case was also an isolated incident and similar cases could occur in any country.

“China upholds the rule of law. The Chinese government never tolerates illegal or violent activities and will investigate the cases and bring the criminal to justice according to the law. China has taken effective measures to protect the safety of all foreigners in China and will continue to do so,” Lin said.

Lin added that China and Japan have been in contact over the knife attack. The spokesman said that individual cases would not affect exchanges and cooperation between the two countries.

Lin stressed that China always welcomes people from all countries, including Japan, to travel, study, do business and live in China, and will continue to take effective measures to protect the safety of foreigners in China.

The boy who died in the tragic incident is a 10-year-old student at Shenzhen Japanese School. He was stabbed by a man about 200 meters from the school on Wednesday morning. The boy was immediately taken to hospital and the attacker was arrested at the scene.

Global times