Case of missing ISU student sees global reach

The suspicious death of a Chinese international student has grabbed a global audience.

It's also something that likely will lead investigators to look to China for answers.

Friends of Iowa State University student Tong Shao, 20, reported her missing Sept. 17. They knew she was visiting a friend in Iowa City, whom Iowa City police identified on Monday as Xiangnan Li.

Police said Monday that they believe Li, 23, has returned to China and that they consider him as a person of interest in the case.

Police have told Chinese government authorities about the missing persons case and are using federal resources, Iowa City Police Sgt. Scott Gaarde said Monday morning

Local audiences aren't the only ones paying attention to the case. Chinese social media has been abuzz about Shao's disappearance and the subsequent search for her friend in China, said Wenfang Tang, a University of Iowa liberal arts professor and the Hua Hsia chair of Chinese Culture and Institutions.

'I've been looking at Chinese websites,' he said Monday. 'It's all over those. The Chinese public is watching the local (Iowa) news very closely.'

He predicted Chinese citizens may become even more interested in the case if the Chinese government fights extradition of her friend.

Murder, he added, is taken very seriously in China, with the death penalty being levied in many cases.

However, Ron McMullen, a UI visiting associate professor of political science and former ambassador to Eritrea, said the case could get complicated if authorities have to extradite a suspect from China.

The United States has extradition treaties with a number of countries, which means if a person is indicted on a crime committed in this country, authorities can ask another government to hand the suspect over to stand trial.

The extradition process would involve the FBI, McMullen noted.

But the United States and China do not have an extradition treaty, according to the U.S. State Department. McMullen noted that's likely due to the this country's history of allowing Chinese residents to seek asylum from the Chinese government.

The United States still could ask China to extradite a suspect, but McMullen said the recent escalation of civil protests in Hong Kong could make it tricky.

'This will completely consume the judicial and administrative (authorities) in China for the time being,' McMullen said. 'It's a long shot, quite frankly.'

However, public opinion has played a role in some criminal cases in China, Tang added.

Deng Yujiao, a waitress in Hubei Province in China, initially was charged with first-degree murder — which carries a death sentence in China — after she stabbed a politician whom she said tried to rape her in 2009.

As the story went viral on the Internet in China, the criminal charges were reduced to manslaughter. She was eventually convicted of assault but did not serve prison time, according to ChinaDaily.com.

'If there is a moral issue involved, you'll see a very heated debate on the Internet,' Tang said.

Reporter Erin Jordan contributed to this story.