A Chinese-American immigration lawyer once jailed for protesting at Tiananmen is stabbed to death by a deranged Chinese student, 25, at his NYC office after he refused to help her apply for asylum.
Jinjin Li, 66, took part in the 1989 student democracy movement at Tiananmen Square, he was a graduate law student and jailed by the Chinese government for nearly two years.
A brave Chinese-American lawyer who was previously imprisoned for demonstrating at Tiananmen Square was assassinated in his New York City office by a woman who cops say had lately been denied assistance in applying for asylum.
On Monday, Li was stabbed to death in the city where he had long worked as an immigration lawyer, even as he continued to publicly campaign for the many people imprisoned or slain by Chinese authorities during the country’s democracy struggle.
Lawyer: Who Was Jinjin Li?
Jinjin Li was an immigration lawyer in Queens who Xiaoning Zhang, 25, allegedly stabbed because she was furious that he had refused to take on her case.
During the six-week protest movement in Beijing, Li took to the streets and served as a legal counsel for the Workers Autonomous Federation union. He was apprehended mere days after the June 4, 1989, massacre, in which the Chinese troops massacred hundreds of people in the square and adjacent regions. He was imprisoned for 22 months before seeking asylum in the United States in 1993.
According to Li’s acquaintances, the lawyer, who seldom refuses a case, declined to help Zhang after she made a disturbance at his office on Friday. Before she ran away, the police were called to the scene.
She is assumed to have assaulted Li during a previous visit to his office last week after Li told the student, who came to Los Angeles on an F1 visa last year, that he would not assist her in filing for asylum.
Jinjin Li Stabbed To Death By Chinese Student Xiaoning Zhang Details Explored
Chinese Student Xiaoning Zhang stabbed Jinjin Li in the body and neck in his workplace on 39th Avenue near 138th St. in Flushing at 11:40 a.m., and despite doctors’ best efforts, he died at Elmhurst Hospital.
Zhang, 25, the suspected assailant, was apprehended and charged with murder and weapon possession. Late Monday, police officers stood guard outside her apartment building as detectives awaited a warrant to search her possessions.
She is believed to have stated that Beijing police raped her and that returning home would put her life in jeopardy. It wasn’t clear when she’d be arraigned or if she’d hired an attorney right away.
What Happened To Jinjin Li?
Jinjin Li was 66 years of age who is not available on Wikipedia and was stabbed to death at his Queens office at 11.40 a.m. on Monday. Xiaoning Zhang, 25, was arrested and charged with murder and weapon possession, according to police.
The homicide may have been motivated by Li’s unwillingness to take Zhang on as a client owing to her possible mental health difficulties, according to Chuang Chuang Chen, the CEO of the China Democracy Party, and lawyer Wei Zhu, a friend of Li’s.
On Monday evening, NYPD officers were seen waiting for a search warrant to enter Zhang’s apartment building, presumably leading to motives for the murder.