Tang Yongming

Case details

Tang Yongming (47) attacked three people at the 13th-century Drum Tower in Beijing during the 2008 Summer Olympics. After stabbing two American tourists and their Chinese tour guide, Tang Yongming leaped to his death from a 40-metre (130 ft) high balcony on the Drum Tower.

Timeline

• 2006 — Tang Yongming went through his second divorce.
• May 2007 — His 21-year-old son was detained on suspicion of fraud.
• March 2008 — The 21-year-old son received a suspended prison sentence in March 2008 for theft.
• August 1, 2008 — Tang Yongming arrived in Beijing.
• August 9, 2008 — Tang Yongming stabbed two American tourists and their Chinese tour guide at the Drum Tower and then jumped from a 40-metre (130 ft) high balcony.
• 2008 — The incident occurred during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

The offence

On August 9, 2008, while visiting the historic Drum Tower in Beijing during the 2008 Summer Olympics, Tang Yongming stabbed two American tourists and their Chinese tour guide. The attack involved three people being stabbed in Beijing, China, on that date.

Todd Bachman was killed in the attack. Barbara Bachman was severely wounded but survived. The Chinese national tour guide was also stabbed and was critically wounded but survived the attack; the guide’s name was not released.

After the stabbing, Tang Yongming committed suicide by jumping from a 40-metre (130 ft) high balcony on the Drum Tower.

Investigation

Investigators reported that Tang Yongming was distraught over family problems. Investigators also reported that Tang Yongming had no previous criminal record.

Police reported that Tang Yongming grew increasingly despondent when his 21-year-old son started getting into trouble. The Chinese police characterized him as a man turned desperate by personal shortcomings, saying: “He had lost all hope after a series of failures in his life and took his anger out on society,” as quoted in the narrative from Xinhua, the state news agency.

Much of the debate and the supposition about Tang Yongming’s motives was described as occurring in a vacuum of substantial information.

Background

Tang Yongming spent most of his life in the outskirts of Hangzhou. He had worked as a metal presser at the Hangzhou Meter Factory for more than twenty years. Colleagues described him as having a “quick temper” and as always complaining about society, and they described his frequent argument-like behavior.

A former colleague said Tang Yongming had “an unyielding mouth,” grumbled a great deal, and was “very cynical,” saying:

“grumbled a great deal”, and was “very cynical”.

Another former co-worker said Tang Yongming was “very cynical” and made the following remark about his temperament:

“He had a quick temper and was always complaining about society,”

Neighbors and former co-workers also said he was often disgruntled and prone to argument. Another colleague described him as: “He had an unyielding mouth.”

Tang Yongming’s job history included being laid off from a meter factory in Hangzhou and then being transferred to a guard role at a factory gate when the plant was bought by a private company. Colleagues said that in 2004 he lost that job for reasons that were not clear.

In 2006, his wife, who also worked at the meter factory, divorced him. Tang Yongming sold his house and rented a room nearby in Hengjie, a once-rural town absorbed into Hangzhou’s industrial sprawl. Jiang Beigen, his landlord, said Tang Yongming paid $53 a month for an unfurnished room. Other tenants described Tang Yongming as having only one shirt and a single pair of pants, which he washed by hand at night. They said he had no job and often slept late into the day. Last week, Tang Yongming announced he was leaving town.

On August 1, 2008, Tang Yongming arrived in Beijing. The only item he left behind, investigators said, was the government-issued identification card in his pocket.

A police narrative described that he called his son the evening before the attack and told him he would not be returning until he found success.

Victims

Three people were stabbed in Beijing, China, on August 9, 2008.

• Todd Bachman (62) — killed in the attack. He was a prominent horticulturalist from Lakeville, Minnesota. He was the father of American athlete Elisabeth Bachman and the father-in-law of Team USA men's volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon.
• Barbara Bachman (62) — severely wounded but survived the attack.
• Female Chinese national tour guide — stabbed; her name was not released.

Aftermath

US Olympic Committee Chairman Peter Ueberroth and US President George W. Bush offered their condolences. President Hu Jintao, meeting Sunday with President Bush, expressed condolences to the victims and their families and said the police would fully investigate, saying:

“The Chinese side takes this unfortunate incident very seriously,”

A widely circulated posting on the Internet criticized Tang Yongming’s actions, saying:

“Your actions have hurt not just two Americans, but they have hurt the way Americans will view China during the Games, the way all the people of the world will view China. The bright dream of these momentous Olympics has been darkened by you.”

The incident was described as isolated since attacks on foreigners while visiting China are rare. The attack occurred on the first day of the Olympic Games in Beijing and was described as puncturing a “feel-good bubble” after the opening ceremonies on Friday night.

Other details

Tang Yongming had spent most of his life in the outskirts of Hangzhou. His son was detained in May 2007 on suspicion of fraud and later received a six-month sentence for burglary. The son later received a suspended prison sentence in March 2008 for theft.

Reporting was contributed by Steven Lee Myers, and research was contributed by Dado Derviskadic, Fan Wenxin and Zhan Yingying.