At 15 o’clock EST on November 18, the University of Chicago held a memorial service for 24-year-old Chinese student Zheng Shaoxiong at Rockefeller Memorial Hall.
On November 9, Zheng Shaoxiong, who had just graduated from Chiba University, was shot near the school. This is the second case of Chinese students shot dead in Chicago this year.
Zheng Shaoxiong’s mother spoke at the memorial service. She said:
“My dearest son, I cried all the way, missed all the way, and finally came to the University of Chicago and the highest institution of learning where you pursue knowledge.
The first time in my mother’s life, she went abroad was not to travel, not to attend your graduation ceremony, let alone to your wedding celebration, but to attend your funeral. What a painful human tragedy.”
“The happy way you go to school and leave home is still vivid. Mom still vividly. You said you wanted me to see the world, you wanted me to witness your dream, and you wanted us to look forward to the future together. But now that our mother and son are separated by yin and yang, I sadly called your name over and over again, son, why did you suddenly fall when my mother saw hope? Falling in hell? My poor son, how helpless, pathetic, desperate and angry you are when the bullet of sin passes through your youthful and vigorous chest, when you lie on the cold streets of a foreign country with blood!
You are only 24 years old. Your scientific research dream, your astronomical dream, your math dream, and your love dream were completely smashed in an instant. With nostalgia for life, love for your relatives, and care for your classmates will disappear forever in my life in the bullet of mob sin.
The news came so suddenly that my whole body trembled when I heard it, heartbreaking and painful. I don’t believe it’s true. I don’t believe that I will never see my baby again. People say that people who can shine everywhere are angels. God! Please return my angel to me.
In the short 24 years, you have accompanied me through a happy time, and I have also accompanied you to thrive. In order to realize your grand life plan, you study hard, from Leshan Experiment to Chengdu No. Seven Middle School, to the University of Hong Kong, to the University of Chicago, and successfully completed postgraduate studies. I am proud of your achievements. You are also grateful for my efforts. Just two days before I was shot, I also received a bottle of perfume from Chicago, which was your birthday gift to my mother. Today, I crossed the ocean to you. I used the perfume you bought for me. I believe you can smell it and my mother. You know that mom is coming to pick you up.
I want to stay quietly beside you. I want to comb your thick hair over and over again with the small comb you used in your childhood. I want to touch your handsome face thousands of times. I want to kiss your wise eyes and long for you to open your eyes again to see your mother who loves you deeply. I will hold you tightly in my arms, heat up your cold body with my temperature, and I will take you home.
Dear son, do you know? When my mother heard that others praised you as an outstanding young man and talented young man, how happy and proud my mother was. In people’s minds, you are a modest gentleman, gentle as jade. You are like a light warming everyone, but only your mother knows how hard you have worked hard behind your back. Mom is proud of you, and mom is for you. Proud.
Dear son, I’m really gratified that in the darkest time of my life, countless friends I know and don’t know give me infinite warmth and comfort. The Chinese Embassy called me, the University of Chicago called me, and the University of Hong Kong also called me. Among them, Chengdu Qizhong held a memorial meeting for you, and there were also Xu Xu. Duoduo’s caring people are they who stretch out a pair of warm and selfless hands, warm my almost frozen body with the warmth of the world, so that I have the courage to overcome difficulties and come to you, and let me express my deep gratitude to them on your behalf.
Dear son, there are also thousands of mothers and thousands of relatives accompanying me. We cry together, we are angry together, and we jointly demand severe punishment of the murderer. For this reason, in the name of my mother, I strongly appeal for the effective protection of the safety of every international student, and never let the tragedy happen again. This is a number of thousands of students studying abroad. The explanation of life is also the explanation of tens of millions of families.
Son, there are so many people who love you. Have a good journey to heaven! Love your mother deeply.”
Two compatriots were shot dead within a year.
Students strongly demand safety.
The news of Zheng Shaoxiong’s murder attracted attention. In many media reports, he was mentioned as “excellent”.
At 11 o’clock local time on November 16, more than 300 college students spontaneously organized a parade at the campus center of the University of Chicago. They shouted slogans: “We are here to study, not to die.”
On the 18th local time, Qin Gang, China’s ambassador to the United States, tweeted in Chinese and English, deeply shocked and urged the United States to bring the murderer to justice.
According to NBC News, the 19-year-old man of African descent has been charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery and illegal use of weapons. He also has a large number of juvenile delinquency. On November 9, he ran away after shooting Zheng Shaoxiong and selling the stolen electronic products for about $100.
It is worth noting that Chicago has long been a high crime rate. Since the beginning of this year, at least three college students in Zhi have been shot dead. At the beginning of this year, Fan Yiran, a doctor of Chiba University and a Chinese student, was shot dead in the apartment parking lot near the campus. In July this year, Max Louis, a 20-year-old junior student of Chiba University, was hit in the neck by a bullet rushing into the window on the neck on the way back to campus by a subway.
