China vowed on Thursday to “bring to justice” those responsible for executing one of its citizens after Islamic State (also known by its previous acronym ISIS) said it had killed a Chinese captive, the first and so far only known Chinese hostage held by the group.
The IS said it had killed a Norwegian and a Chinese captive, showing what appeared to be pictures of the dead men under a banner reading “Executed” in the latest edition of its English language magazine.
It did not give any details in the online Dabiq magazine, published on Wednesday, about how, when or where the men were killed.
In a brief statement, China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the man’s identity for the first time, naming him as Fan Jinghui, saying he had been “cruelly murdered”. It said in September one of its citizens appeared to be in IS captivity. After he was kidnapped, the Chinese government activated an emergency mechanism to try and “rescue” him, but he was still killed in a “cold-blooded way”, the ministry said.
“China strongly condemns this savage act devoid of humanity and will certainly bring the criminals to justice. The Chinese government will resolutely oppose all forms of terrorism, and resolutely strike at any violent terrorist criminal activities that defy the bottom lines of human culture.”
“China will continue to strengthen anti-terrorism cooperation with the international community.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping, visiting Manila for a regional summit, said he “strongly condemned” the killing, state news agency Xinhua said.
The militant group had previously identified Fan as a 50-year-old freelance consultant from Beijing. The state-run Beijing News said Fan was probably a former advertising executive who lived in a western suburb of Beijing, but that his company shut down in 2003. It is not clear why he had gone to West Asia the Middle East.
China has repeatedly denounced Islamist militants and urged the world to step up coordination in combating the IS . Earlier in the week, Liu Jieyi, China’s permanent representative to the UN, during a Security Council debate, exhorted “concerned parties” to form a “unified front” to defeat terrorism.
Xu Qiliang, Vice-Chairman of China's Central Military Commission, had recently underscored in Moscow Beijing’s willingness to work with Russia to protect “mutual interests and regional as well as world stability”, Xinhua reported. — Reuters
