posted on Nov 10 2001
Dear Alumni,
The tragic news was first brought up to the attention of our alumni association
by our alumna and Qiao2 Bao4 (The China Press) reporter Ms. Liu Yutao. PUAASC
President Xu Wenge made the arrangements for further fact-finding effort before
he went on a business trip. Based on the information from Peking University and
people in Tucson, there may not be a Peking University alumni association
there. As probably the geographically closest PKU alumni association, we feel
that we bear the responsibility to provide information to our alumni and
organize or coordinate the relief effort.
We called the Chinese Consulate in LA and talked to the Education Consul Mr. E
Xuewen. He and three other consuls were about to visit Tucson, Arizona to visit
the victims' six-year-old daughter, the police chief, and the President of
University of Arizona, the head of the Chemistry Department and the Chinese
students in the University.
Ms. Liu Yutao and PUAASC officers contacted the Chairman of the Chinese Student
and Scholars Association, Mr. Li Siliang, a student in the Department of
Electrical and Computer Engineering. Mr. Li informed us that both victims, Mr.
Yang Jianqing, a Chemistry student, and his wife Ms. Chen Yuyun were Peking
University alumni. Mr. Yang entered PKU in 1986. Their six-year-old daughter is
taken care of by the couple's church friends. The family members of the victims
in Fujian Province were in the process of applying US entry visas. So far no
cause of the deaths has been officially released by the Tucson police. CSSA's
Web site (where you may also find the couple's pictures)
http://clubs.asua.arizona.edu/~acss/ has the latest information as well as the
ways to make donations to the victims' family.
The news of the apparent double murder has been available at the major Chinese
Web sites (for example, http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2001-11-08/394774.html
http://www.chinapressusa.com/20011106/yw/zgdl5.htmand the major English Web
sites (for example,
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/azstar/20011106/lo/ua_students_can_t_fathom_two_murders_1.html).
Mr. Li also expressed his wish to let more mainstream Chinese newspapers to
make the news known to more people for safety alerts and for helping the
family. With our help, Mr. Li established a contact with the Chief of the
Xinhua News Agency Los Angeles Bureau.
We will continue to keep a close contact with the Consuls, the student leaders,
and the news reporters to bring you more information of the criminal
investigation and the relief effort.
Any suggestions, comments, and voluntary help are encouraged and welcome.
Best regards,
PUAASC
11/07/2001 10 PM