The cold-blooded attitude in China towards the tragedy of international students: Reflections on the Chicago shooting

At least three people were killed and four others injured in a mass shooting in Chicago on January 9, local time. Including a 30-year-old Chinese Ph.D. student Fan Yiran, who died after being shot in the head in his car in a parking lot near Hyde Park.

On January 10, the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business announced that the victim, Fan Yiran, was a fourth-year doctoral student in economics and finance at the university, and had planned to submit a thesis later this year. At present, the police have been in contact with his family and are preparing to investigate further.

Fan Yiran was born in Beijing, 1991. He studied in The Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University. According to his junior high school classmates, Fan Yiran was strong in academics and a good friend. He was very kind .”He liked to joke around and had a great sense of humor.”

Later, Fan was admitted to Guanghua School of Management at Peking University through independent enrollment. During his undergraduate years, Fan Yiran worked hard and conscientiously. His friends said that he was very enthusiastic about his academic work and his teachers spoke very highly of him. During the last winter vacation of his 4th year, he chose to join a volunteer organization dedicated to humanistic quality education in underdeveloped areas.

After graduating from Peking University, Fan worked briefly for JPMorgan Capital One before moving to the US to continue pursuing his academic career. Fan received a master’s degree in Financial Engineering from Cambridge University and a master’s degree in Financial Mathematics from the University of Chicago.

In 2015, Fan joined the Windmill Drama Society in Chicago while serving as a member of the Fama-Miller Research Center at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He had his own unique views in academic aspects and possessed a strong interest in drama. The Chicago Windmill Drama Society was founded by a group of drama and stage art lovers in Chicago. The club is also dedicated to expressing thoughts about life and spiritual exploration through excellent works and original works from the Chinese domestic drama circle.

During this period, Fan Yiran directed the existentialist philosopher Sartre’s famous play “Huis Clos”. When talked about the reason he chose to play the “Huis Clos”, Fan said, “Huis Clos is a classic play. It may not be Sartre’s best, but it is probably his most original and philosophical one. Since it is a classic, it will be put on the stage constantly by different people. I just want to do my part to let more people know such classics.”

Fan Yiran said the major takeaway of this show is not to care too much about other people’s opinions. He said that the main character in the play always lives under other people’s judgments, which makes him exhausted even in his afterlife. “I think it’s better to take it easy sometimes. No matter how terrible the situations are, we have the rights and the freedom to break them. If we still willing to stay in such situations, then we are sentencing ourselves to hell.”

“There are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people’s eyes,” Fan added at the end of his interview about “Huis Clos”. I firmly believe that audiences with different backgrounds will gain different experiences and thoughts from the play. I don’t expect much, as long as the audience can say, ‘That was a good play,’ I’m satisfied.”

By understanding his growing experience, a young man with excellent academic performance, independent thinking, and enthusiasm came to life. He was passionate about academics and had strict requirements for himself. He had a soft spot for stage plays, and he tried to integrate his understanding of characters and life into it, enlightening everyone who comes to see the plays…

This remarkable young man whose life ended abruptly as he entered his fourth year of doctoral studies in Chicago. He was supposed to submit his thesis in 2021 and continue his academic and stage play path. He could have had a wonderful life. Now, his life forever stopped at the age of 30.

However, after the tragic news was spread online, others lighthearted: “Wouldn’t it be all right if he didn’t study in the United States?” “how many people that studied abroad will come back to serve their motherland?” It is too cold-blooded for these people to make such remarks when international students in America is in dire straits.

The number of people who showed sympathy did not increase until an alumnus of Peking University said, “He (Fan Yiran) had always been hoping to return to Peking University as a professor after finishing his postdoctoral study at the University of Chicago.” But how many people will care if he were not a promising “straight-A student”, and how many people will still be able to think and do something after hearing about this news?

In recent years, society has always been indifferent, and even a little “hostile” towards Chinese international students. At least they are not very concerned about them. As the coronavirus raging through the world last year, some Chinese students were stranded abroad and were infected with Covid-19. Some netizens accused them of studying abroad at such a difficult time, believing they were the ones to blame. Some Chinese students hurried to return to China. These netizens even showed dissatisfaction with this behavior: These netizens fear that the international students will bring the virus back to China and remain beyond the border.

But their lives are just like ours, and should not be violated anywhere. These deaths are not just cold numbers.

Behind this incident reflects a social mentality. The victims are unfamiliar to most netizens, and the individual value of their lives can easily be replaced by a symbolic symbol or simply summarized as “excellent” international students in the United States. They are no longer unique individuals. The Nanjing University did a preliminary statistical study by collecting media reports of Chinese international students’ deaths over the past decade. The study has found that at least 92 young lives were lost, with many cases happened in 2016 and 2017.

But those are precious lives, no matter they are “mediocre” or “outstanding”, they are the treasures of their parents and family. We can’t just let the incidents happen so often, and after we sigh, things go back to normal. Life can’t be brought back once it’s gone, but what the outside world does can significantly reduce the likelihood of similar events happen in the future.

I think it is essential for China to help and care more about international students. It’s not that we have to keep track of their movements, but we can learn about their situations from multiple angles when they are abroad. First of all, we can further implement legal acts such as “how to better protect the personal safety of international students” and “how to better protect their rights”. After all, in an unfamiliar environment, many international students do not know how to contain the situation even they find the signs of crisis. Legal assistance can improve their self-protection awareness and ability not to flinch when they encounter difficulties. Secondly, during special times like now, we should be in timely contact with them, asking them about the situations. For example, during the epidemic last year, we should pay more attention to the international students, such as asking them how they are doing both physically and mentally, asking if they are short in supplies, etc. In this way, if a problem arises, we can help them first hand.

But it’s more about changing attitudes in China towards incidents like Fan Yiran. From passive acceptance to active awareness; from indifference to caring; from doing nothing to doing something. These are the mindset that many people in China should change to. When our hearts are always thinking about our overseas compatriots and their lives, the situation will become better. After all, we are a family, and our hearts are always connected despite the physical distances.

Of course, international students should also try their best to stay connected and to unite as one. International students must help and greet each other when they are far away from their home country. We should let the Chinese students in foreign countries realize that they are not alone in “fighting” the hard times, but many Chinese are “fighting” with them.

For example, if you come back late from school in the evening, you can travel with a companion. If you encounter problems, you can ask other international students to solve them together. Holding a small party from time to time and to talk about what you have learned at school, share your joys and sorrows with friends are also good ways to stay connected. Domestic Chinese certainly have their inconveniences when they are so far away from the international students. Hence, mutual care between international students becomes the most effective and convenient way to seek help. Therefore, students in foreign countries should learn to “stick together” to protect themselves better.

We all feel sorry for Fan Yiran, a 30-year-old Chinese doctoral student. But this matter should arouse domestic people and international students to deeper thinking. How to better protect the safety of international students? Is China’s attitude towards overseas students too indifferent? What should we be working on to reduce the tragedies? Suppose we cannot prevent “accidental” tragedies from happening outside. In that case, we can at least reflect on ourselves whether we are strong enough to reduce the occurrence of tragedies and effectively compensate for the consequences caused by them.

[EQ1]Fan received master’s degrees in Financial Engineering and Financial Mathematics from Cambridge University and the University of Chicago, respectively.