China honours 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, a school bus attendant in Suzhou city, intervened when a man attacked a Japanese woman and her child at a bus stop outside a Japanese school.

She sustained serious injuries while attempting to restrain the attacker.

Tributes have poured in online, and the local government announced she will be honored with the title of “Righteous and Courageous Role Model.”

The Japanese embassy in China also lowered its flag to half-mast to honor Ms. Hu. In a statement on Weibo, the embassy expressed its sadness over her death.

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

There was also an outpouring of condolences and praise on Chinese social media.

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

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

The 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.

This incident followed another stabbing earlier this month, which injured four US university instructors at a park in Jilin, in China’s northeast.

Chinese officials stated that the two attacks were “isolated” incidents.

Chinese state newspaper Global Times published an editorial on Friday paying tribute to Ms. Hu, also asserting that “China is undoubtedly still one of the safest countries in the world.”

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

The stabbing in Suzhou raised concerns among the local Japanese community, prompting the embassy to issue a safety alert advising its citizens in China to take precautions while out.

China’s foreign ministry called the incident “regrettable” and stated that it would “continue to take effective measures to earnestly protect the safety of all foreigners in China.”

China has experienced a series of knife attacks in the past year.

In May, two people were killed and 10 others injured in an attack at a primary school in Jiangxi province. Another stabbing that same month resulted in two deaths and 21 injuries at a hospital in Yunnan.

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