Source: China Youth Daily
At 15:00 Eastern Time on November 18, the University of Chicago held a memorial service for Zheng Shaoxiong, a 24-year-old Chinese student, at the Rockefeller Memorial Hall.
On November 9, Zheng Shaoxiong, who had just graduated from Chiba University, was shot and killed near the school. This is the second case of Chinese students being shot and killed in Chicago this year.
Zheng Shaoxiong's mother spoke at the memorial service. She said:
"My dearest son, I have been weeping all the way, missing all the way, all the way up, finally coming to the University of Chicago, to the highest institution where you pursue knowledge.
The first time in her life, my mother went abroad was not to travel and sightsee, not to attend your graduation ceremony, and not to participate in your wedding celebration, but to attend your funeral. What a tragic human tragedy. ”
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You said you want to take me to see the world, you want me to witness your dreams, you want us to look forward to the future together, but now that our mother and son are separated by yin and yang, I call your name over and over again in grief, son, why did my mother suddenly fall into hell when she saw hope? My poor son, when the bullet of sin passes through your youthful chest, when you lie covered in blood on the cold streets of a foreign country, how helpless you are, how pitiful, how desperate, how angry you are!
You are only 24 years old, your scientific research dreams, your astronomical dreams, your mathematical dreams, your love dreams, in an instant, were completely shattered, you with the attachment to life, the love for your relatives, the care for your classmates in the bullet of the mob's evil disappeared forever and forever in my life.
The news came so suddenly that when I heard it, my whole body trembled, my heart and lungs were torn apart, and I was in pain. I don't believe this is true, I don't believe I'll never see my baby again, people say that the one who can shine everywhere is an angel, O heavens! Please return my angel to me.
In the short 24 years, you have spent a happy time with me, I have also accompanied you to grow strongly, in order for you to achieve a grand life plan, you studied diligently, from Leshan Experimental Middle School to Chengdu No. 7 Middle School, to the University of Hong Kong, to the University of Chicago, successfully completed graduate studies, I am proud of your achievements, and you are grateful for my efforts. Just two days before the shooting, I received a bottle of perfume from you from Chicago, your birthday present for your mother. Today I came to you across the ocean, I used the perfume you bought for me, I believe you can smell this smell, smell your mother, you know your mother came to pick you up and take you home.
I want to stay by your side quietly, I want to comb your thick hair over and over again with the little comb you used in your childhood, I want to stroke your handsome face a thousand times, I want to kiss your wise eyes, I want you to open your eyes again to see your mother who loves you deeply. I'm going to hold you tight in my arms, I'm going to heat your cold body with my body heat, and I'm going to take you home.
Dear son, do you know? Mother hears others praise you as an outstanding young man, how happy and proud your mother is when you are a young talent, in people's minds you are a humble gentleman, warm as jade, you are like a light warming everyone, but only your mother knows how much hard work you have put in behind your back, your mother is proud of you, your mother is proud of you.
Dear son, I am really relieved that in the darkest time of my life, countless friends who know and do not know have given me infinite warmth and comfort, the Chinese Embassy called me, the University of Chicago called me, the University of Hong Kong also called me, of which Chengdu Seventh Middle School held a memorial service for you, and many caring people, it is they who stretched out a pair of warm and selfless hands, warmed my almost frozen body with the warmth of the world, and let me have the courage to overcome difficulties to come to you. Let me express my deep gratitude to them on your behalf.
Dear son, I have come with thousands of mothers, as well as thousands of relatives, we weep together, we are angry together, we jointly demand severe punishment of the murderer, for this reason in the name of my mother, I strongly call for the effective protection of the safety of every international student, and never let the tragedy repeat itself.
Son, there are so many people who love you, heaven you go all the way! Love your mom deeply. ”
Within a year, two compatriots were shot dead
Students strongly demand safety
The news of Zheng Shaoxiong's murder has attracted attention. In a number of media reports, he was mentioned as "excellent".
At 11:00 local time on November 16, more than 300 college students spontaneously organized a parade in the center of the University of Chicago campus. They shouted slogans: "We are here to learn, not to die." ”
On the 18th local time, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang tweeted in Chinese and English, deeply shocked by this, and urged the United States to bring the murderer to justice.
According to NBC News, suspect Span, a 19-year-old african-American man, has been charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery and illegal use of weapons. He also has a large criminal record of juvenile delinquency. On November 9, he shot and killed Zheng Shaoxiong and escaped, selling the stolen electronics for about $100.
Notably, Chicago has long had a high crime rate. At least three Chiba university students have been shot and killed so far this year. Earlier this year, Dr. Fan Yiran, a Chinese student at Chicago University, was shot dead in an apartment parking lot near the campus; in July, Max Luiz, a 20-year-old third-year-old student at Zhida University, was hit in the neck by stray bullets that slid through the window of a car on the subway and died.