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An American was sentenced to death on Thursday (21) after being found guilty of murdering his Chinese girlfriend.
According to state television network CCTV, Shadeed Abdulmateen was working as an English teacher at a Chinese university when he met the victim, Chen Moumou. He reportedly lied to her about being divorced and the two began a relationship that lasted about two years.
In May of last year, however, Abdulmateen began threatening Chen when she broke up with him. A month later, the teacher arranged to meet the victim at a bus stop and stabbed her several times in the face and neck. Chen suffered heavy bleeding and died at the scene.
Abdulmateen was arrested in August, sparking fury on the internet. At the time, Chinese complained about the procedural slowness and accused the police of being lenient with the suspect because he was a foreigner.
As the case resonated, the trial was attended by high-ranking national officials, including members of the National Assembly and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
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The Ningbo Intermediate People’s Court, responsible for the verdict, found that the American “planned the murder out of revenge, with base intentions and despicable means”.
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“The circumstances of the crime were particularly bad and the consequences particularly serious, deserving punishment in accordance with the law”, states the sentence released to the press.
On social media, the announcement of capital punishment was posted several times accompanied by a video showing Chen’s mother in tears, accusing the man of “killing her child”.
The court said it respected the accused’s rights, provided an interpreter and notified the US embassy to send diplomatic representatives to the trial. The US did not respond.
why it matters: Death sentences are common in China. The country is the world leader in executions, according to Amnesty International. However, it is rare for foreigners (especially Westerners) to be sentenced to death.
what also matters
Hong Kong has given the green light for new versions of Covid-19 vaccines developed by pharmaceutical companies Sinopharm and Sinovac to begin testing in the city.
The immunizers use the same technology as the version currently used, with the virus inactivated. The novelty is that the new composition will bring the Ômicron strain, theoretically offering greater protection against the variant.
The Sinopharm vaccine will be tested as a booster in adults who have had two (or three) regular doses. Sinovac intends to carry out a more comprehensive study to test protection against other variants of the virus, such as Gama and Delta.
The country faces several outbreaks caused by the omicron, and current research shows low effectiveness of vaccines used by the country against the variant. There is still no deadline for the completion of studies in Hong Kong.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said it had not yet found “any abnormality” in investigations into the tragic accident on flight MU5735, operated by China Eastern Airlines. The accident happened on March 21 and killed all 132 people on board.
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The aircraft had its airworthiness certificate up to date and reports of preventive maintenance carried out before the accident did not arouse suspicion;
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The next step of the investigation is to analyze the flight information in the plane’s black boxes and check for possible technical or human failures.
Experts have not found any reports of instrument malfunctions on the plane, but that work began in late March and has yet to be completed.
keep an eye
After three weeks in strict lockdown, Shanghai is starting to show the first signs of reopening. On Thursday, officials said the virus was “under effective control” in parts of the city.
As a result, several areas will progress from “closed” to “controlled” status, allowing around 12 million people to be allowed outdoors for the first time since restrictions began in March.
why it matters: the new wave of Covid infections has finally started to show signs of stabilizing, albeit at very high levels. Unofficial estimates indicate that the city may see a significant decrease only at the end of May, when the total number of infections is expected to reach 600,000.
At the same time, China confirmed new deaths from Covid for the first time since the outbreak began: at least 10 people, most of them elderly and unvaccinated.
to go deep
- When a person visits a region considered to be a danger of Covid infection in China, the QR Code that attests to their health can turn red. In this report, Sixth Tone explains how trivial change can spell a nightmare for ordinary people. (free, in English)
- China is preparing an extensive pension reform, designed to increase individual contributions and allow greater participation by the private sector. Understand the changes and impact on retirements at the South China Morning Post. (porous paywall, in English)
- UFMG held an event in partnership with the Chinese Embassy in Brazil to discuss prospects for Sino-Brazilian relations. With the participation of chargé d’affaires Jin Hongjun, the recording was made available in full on the university’s YouTube channel. (free, in Portuguese)
