Jiang Ge's mother thanks public for support

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The mother of a Chinese graduate student killed in Japan last November has expressed her gratitude to the public for their support during a signature campaign she initiated in Tokyo demanding the death penalty for her daughter's suspected killer.

Jiang Ge. /ifeng.com Photo

Jiang Ge, from Qingdao in eastern China’s Shandong Province, was stabbed to death last November by her roommate’s ex-boyfriend.

She was studying for her master’s degree at Hosei University in Japan.

“Chen Shifeng [the alleged murderer] has no way to absolve himself from the guilt of claiming my daughter’s life,” Jiang Qiulian said in a video statement, adding that she would spare no effort in her fight for justice.

Jiang’s mother began to collect signatures from the public to support the death penalty for Chen, who remains in custody ahead of his trial which is scheduled to start on December 11.

Jiang's mother holds a signature campaign in Tokyo. /Photo from Jiang Qiulian's Weibo

A two-day campaign, which started last Saturday in Tokyo, was joined by hundreds of local volunteers and has gained support on Chinese social media.

According to Sina News, 1.5 million signatures have been collected as of Wednesday, while the post on Weibo linking to the online signing page has been reposted over 300,000 times.

“There are so many Chinese providing help to me all the way through and I’m really grateful to them all,” Jiang said.

Screenshot of the Beijing News' video

The murder of 24-year-old Jiang in Tokyo more than a year ago sparked widespread outcry in November this year, after a video capturing a face-to-face meeting between Jiang's mother and her former roommate, Liu Xin, was posted.

Jiang's mother meets Liu Xin

During the meeting, which took place 294 days after Jiang’s death, Liu was seen on camera constantly sobbing while extending apologies for not being able to offer her friend a helping hand at the scene.

Screenshot of the Beijing News' video

Liu also claimed that she had never locked the apartment door to prevent Jiang from getting inside but was unable to open it when Jiang was being attacked.

“I had no idea of what happened outside and I was really unaware that Chen Shifeng was carrying out a murder at the time,” Liu whimpered, adding, “I was indeed intimidated so that I did not step outside until the police arrived.”

Jiang's apartment in Tokyo /ifeng.com Photo

But during the meeting, Jiang’s mother condemned Liu for waiting nearly 300 days to offer more details of her daughter’s last moments.

She even slammed Liu’s family for remaining indifferent to Jiang Ge’s death.

Jiang Ge allegedly killed in Liu Xin’s defense

Liu Xin, also from Shandong Province, was a former classmate of Jiang. She moved in with her last September after breaking up with Chen, the 25-year-old she had been dating since June 2016.

Chen Shifeng /ifeng.com Photo

Hours before Jiang was stabbed to death, the alleged murderer had come to her door to find Liu Xin but was reportedly involved in a spat with Jiang who was there to confront him after receiving messages from a terrified Liu.

Screenshot of the Beijing News' video

After being tailed by Chen all the way to her workplace, a frightened Liu sent another message to Jiang after work in the evening in the hope of going back home together, Liu Xin revealed in an interview with the Beijing News released on November 9.

Jiang’s mother failed to meet with Liu Xin months after her daughter was killed

Jiang's mother was blocked on WeChat by Liu Xin's mother. /The Beijing News Photo

After being informed of her daughter’s death by the Chinese embassy in Japan, Jiang Qiulian was unable to meet with Liu Xin for more details about the murder despite multiple inquiries and could not even reach out to Liu through WeChat.

Liu also failed to show up at Jiang’s funeral as promised, with her parents later blocking Jiang Qiulian’s telephone calls.

Jiang Qiulian lived only with her daughter since divorce. /The Beijing News Photo

Jiang Qiulian and Liu Xin finally had their long overdue face-to-face talk in August.

The Beijing News said it lasted for almost two hours and ended with the two failing to reach a reconciliation.

Jiang Qiulian also revealed to the Beijing News following the meeting that she would not forgive Liu Xin.