Students Mourn Death of ClassmateAn estimated 5,000 Beijing University students took part in a memorial service Thursday for a murdered female classmate.The university gave permission on Wednesday for the students to hold the memorial. University President Xu Zhihong and other senior officials took part in the memorial. "We are very sad and angry about the murder. But we have to stay calm to maintain campus stability," said Zhao Cunsheng, director of the university's information department. The authorities released a message on Tuesday saying they regretted the death. Posters expressing sadness and outrage over the murder have been stuck all over the university's bulletin boards since the body of 19-year-old Qiu Qingfeng was discovered early on Saturday at a branch campus in Changping County north of Beijing. Qiu was raped and murdered as she walked back to her dorm on an unlit road after getting off at the nearest public bus stop. More than 20 female students from the university's Student Union stayed up all night making more than 3,000 white paper flowers for the memorial. But the flowers ran out in less than two hours after the memorial began Thursday afternoon. |
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