SYDNEY—Australia’s Mandarin-speaking ex-leader
Kevin Rudd on Tuesday
weighed into the case of two Chinese students who were burned and beaten
in Sydney, sparking a media storm in their homeland, reports said.
Police confirmed that a 29-year-old man “suffered a fractured
cheekbone and nose… as well as burns from a lit cigarette” during a
robbery by six youths on a train in southern Sydney on Monday.
“A second male victim also suffered burns to the face during the alleged robbery,” police said in a statement.
One of the victims was identified as a Chinese blogger named Xuan
studying for a masters degree in Sydney, who posted about the graphic
attack on the microblogging site
Sina Weibo.
“A gang of hooligans attacked us. Our noses are fractured and our
bodies are covered in blood,” wrote Xuan, according to a translation in
the
Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.
“My friend’s cheekbone was crushed. They attacked us with glass and
burnt us with lit cigarettes. My face is burnt and totally disfigured.
Worst of all, I really hated their racist comments.”
Xuan claimed the group taunted them as “Asian dogs and pussies” and
when his friend tried to wipe the blood from his nose “a teenaged girl
stuffed my friend’s mouth with her tampon removed from her pants.”
There were many passengers and staff on the train, he added, but
nobody intervened to help and another woman targeted by the gang even
encouraged them to rob Xuan and his friend saying “they are Asian and
they have got money.”
Xuan’s post about the attack was reposted on Weibo, China’s answer to
Twitter, more than 10,000 times according to the Herald, and
Australia’s ex-PM and former foreign minister Kevin Rudd also spoke up
on the site.
Weibo newcomer Rudd wrote that he would “try to approach the police
and department of education” about the incident, the Herald said.
Australia has gained an unwelcome reputation for violence against
international students in recent years, with a string of attacks
involving Indian students in southern Melbourne triggering diplomatic
tensions.
There was intense publicity in India about the assaults, which
included the stabbing murder of accounting graduate for his mobile
phone, and Canberra conceded that some of the violence was racially
motivated. - AFP
'This city is so dangerous': outrage in China over Sydney train assault
Peter Cai
Will try to approach police ... a screen grab of Kevin Rudd's message on Weibo.
A terrifying gang assault on Sydney train passengers has
left two international students seriously injured and caused a media
storm in China.
The alleged robbery, including racist taunts, drew a
social media pledge from former foreign affairs minister Kevin Rudd and
led to emergency talks at Sydney's Chinese consulate general.
Police said six people, aged 14 to 18, robbed passengers on a train between Central and Rockdale about 12.30am yesterday.
A picture from Xuan's blog. >>
Officers were called to
Rockdale station about 15 minutes
later, where they arrested three men, two aged 18 and one 19, a
14-year-old boy and two girls, aged 16 and 17.
They were all charged with a number of robbery and assault offences.
Yesterday's attack came just days after two safety
warnings from the
Chinese embassy in Canberra for citizens travelling in
Australia. Many Chinese students studying in Australia have expressed
their fear over growing violence directed against them.
One of the victims of the attack, known as Xuan, suffered from a fractured nose and burns from a lit cigarette.
The international student from China, seeking a master's
degree at the University of Technology, Sydney, was travelling with a
friend from Central to Rockdale when the attack happened.
A translation from Xuan's blog on the Chinese social
media site Weibo reads: “I really wish all of this is just a nightmare.
However, the smell of blood in my mouth and body pains reminds me that
this city is so dangerous.
“A gang of hooligans attacked us. Our noses are fractured
and our bodies are covered in blood. My friend's cheekbone was crushed.
They attacked us with glass and burnt us with lit cigarettes. My face
is burnt and totally disfigured! Worst of all, I really hated their
racist comments.
“They were calling us Asian dogs and pussies while they
were beating us. When my friend tried to wipe blood from his nose, a
teenaged girl stuffed my friend's mouth with her tampon removed from her
pants.”
Another woman passenger, who was also targeted by the
thieves, allegedly told the attackers to “rob them, they are Asian and
they have got money”.
Xuan and his friend were treated at St George Hospital in Sydney's south-west.
He said he would now take leave from study and return to China.
The incident has caused outrage in the Chinese student
community across the country and Xuan's initial post was re-tweeted more
than 10,000 times. Thousands of Chinese students have expressed their
disgust online.
The incident has made headlines acrosss China, including
on the popular news sites Sina News and the
English language Shanghai
Daily.
Chinese consular officials have also publicly expressed
their support for the students.
Fairfax Media understands that officials
met at the
Consulate General in Sydney this morning to discuss the
incident.
Mr Rudd, a new Weibo user, told one of his online
followers, writing in Chinese, that he “will try to approach the police
and department of education"on behalf of the victims.
This website has sought comment from Mr Rudd's office.
One Sydney-based international student said: "Australia
is known for its tolerance and multi-culturalism. Yet there is still a
tiny minority who discriminate against the international students,
especially the younger people."
"You can accept people with different sexual orientations. But why can't you accept people from different cultural backgrounds?"
Xuan also expressed his anger and disappointment at the lack of help from train staff and other passengers.
“Though there were no police on the train, there were
many other people and train staff. It even stopped once at Wolli Creek,
but nobody helped us!”
Peter Cai is
The Age's Asian Affairs Reporter
Beware of Aussie's “Asian dogs and pussies” attacking Chinese and Indian!
