Beijing: US media quick to blame Chinese student
China today said it was regrettable that some US media reports were quick to blame a Chinese student for the Virginia Tech massacre.
Police identified the gunman in the attack that left 33 dead as 23-year-old Cho Seung-Hui.
Cho held a green card – meaning he was a legal, permanent US resident – and had been in the United States since 1992, federal officials said.
But in the hours immediately after the attacks when the killer was identified only as an Asian man, there were media reports in the United States that said he was a Chinese student who had received a visa from the US Consulate in Shanghai.
“Some US media made irresponsible reports on the Virginia Tech shooting before finding out the truth, which violated their professional ethics,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said, according to Xinhua News Agency.
Monday’s shootings drew intense media coverage in China. Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing also sent a note of condolence to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
