The Chen Yuhui case involving the death of a Chinese American soldier in the US military

Danny Chen, male, Chinese-American, was born in 1992 in a Chinese-American family in Chinatown, New York. He is the only child in the family. His parents are immigrants from Taishan City, Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province, China.

On October 3, 2011, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Afghanistan found Chinese-American Private First Class Chen Yuhui dead in a sentry post in southern Afghanistan. A bullet penetrated his head from his jaw. It was a suspected suicide. . After a military investigation, it was discovered that Chen Yuhui had been subjected to racist insults and physical abuse by his comrades before his death. The military did not disclose too many details about the cause of Chen Yuhui's death and did not confirm whether the deceased committed suicide. However, Chen Yuhui's family and some members of social groups suspected that Chen Yuhui committed suicide after being bullied.

On December 21, the U.S. Pentagon issued an announcement stating that Chen Yuhui’s body had an “obvious self-inflicted gunshot wound.” However, the charges against the eight soldiers included “unpremeditated murder” and “negligent homicide.” "Killing" or even "attack", "abuse", "endangering the safety of others", etc. 1st Lt. Daniel J. Schwartz, Staff Sgt. Blaine G. Dugas, Staff Sgt. Andrew J. Van Bockel, Sgt. Adam M. Holcomb, of the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment and 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Eight noncommissioned officers, Sgt. Jeffrey T. Hurst, Spc. Thomas P. Curtis, Spc. Ryan J. Offutt and Sgt. Travis F. Carden, were charged on Wednesday (Wednesday) in connection with the death of Chen Yuhui. On December 21, the U.S. military announced its decision to prosecute eight soldiers stationed in Afghanistan, accusing them of abusing Private First Class Chen Yuhui. The eight soldiers involved included Daniel Schwartz, the platoon leader of Chen Yuhui's unit during his lifetime. Prosecutors accused Schwartz of dereliction of duty and seven others of manslaughter and assault. The defendant is now in Afghanistan. He has been transferred to a base outside his unit and his activities are restricted. The military then plans to hold hearings in Afghanistan to determine whether the evidence is sufficient for a court-martial.

Chris Gray, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, said that the investigation into Chen Yuhui's death will be criminal in nature and involves the circumstances of his death; the investigation will be "professional and very comprehensive."

The death of Chen Yuhui is the second incident this year in which a Chinese American soldier died due to abuse. Some Asians have accused the U.S. Army of allowing soldiers to bully others and discriminating against Asian soldiers. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the military does not tolerate bullying by soldiers. "We treat others with dignity and respect...If military regulations are violated, it will be dealt with by the judicial system." In January 2011, Chen Yuhui, who was a freshman at Baruch College of the City University of New York, decided to join the army. After three months of recruitment training, he was transferred to the Alaska Army Base in April, during which he returned to New York for a week's vacation to visit relatives. In August, he The 25th Infantry Division of the US Army is stationed in southern Afghanistan. On August 12, Chen Yuhui was ordered to go to Afghanistan. His post was a post in the volatile Kandahar Province, and his rank was private. However, on October 3, the sad news suddenly came out that Chen Yuhui died accidentally while on duty.

From Chen Yuhui’s diary, blog and online chat records related to his life in Afghanistan, he showed no signs of depression. There are multiple signs that Chen Yuhui was ostracized by other soldiers before going to Afghanistan and had to "fight alone." During his training, at a military base in Georgia, some soldiers made fun of Chen Yuhui by shouting his English name with an exaggerated Asian accent.

Chen Yuhui wrote in his diary that when others made fun of him, he responded with jokes, "exhausting" all the jokes. With the help of diaries, social networking sites and emails, Chen Yuhui recounted some of his experiences. After he was stationed in Afghanistan, he began to suffer bullying: some soldiers knocked him down and dragged him on the ground; they hit him with rocks; he was forced to hang upside down with liquid in his mouth.

On the fourth day after Chen Yuhui's death, his body was transported back to the United States for burial. Flags in New York State were flown at half-mast in mourning. However, the local Chinese community's doubts about the case have not subsided and they have asked the military to thoroughly investigate the cause of death. Hundreds of mourners gathered in lower Manhattan last week for a candlelight vigil in Columbus Park. Community leaders called on the military to provide an explanation and demanded that someone be held responsible for Chen Yuhui's death. On December 14, the Chinese American Association, together with other ethnic minority groups, Chinese-American City Councilor Chen Qianwen, and Latino Congressman Villeguis, made a special trip to the Pentagon to make tough demands and ask the military to give an explanation. On the 15th, the Asian community in New York held a parade and memorial service. Among them are relatives, classmates or friends of Chen Yuhui, as well as supporters from various ethnic groups and many elected officials. Everyone wore white ribbons on their arms and held candles. Many people held homemade signs and shouted slogans such as "Fight for the rights of Chinese American soldiers" and "Fight for the right to know the truth." The parade will take place from 6 to 8 pm in the evening. It will gather at The Army Recruitment Center at 143 Chambers Street in Manhattan, and then march all the way to Chinatown. The event is open to all people. The convener The public is encouraged to notify relatives and friends to attend and come together to support the event.

Elizabeth OuYang, president of the New York Chapter of the Chinese-American Association, which represents Asian Americans, said that Chen Yuhui’s death is one of several recent cases of bullying in the military, regardless of whether Chen Yuhui died of suicide. It was still a homicide. Eight soldiers should bear the responsibility for abusing Chen Yuhui to death. In 2009, 3,000 Asians nationwide joined the military. She also expressed at the rally that she hopes the military can announce the cause of Chen Yuhui's death as soon as possible and give his family an explanation. Otherwise, she will call on Asians not to join the military. So far, Congress, state and city councilors representing New York, as well as many non-profit organizations such as the American Chinese Association, the Chinese Association, the Chinatown Community Development Agency, and the Manhattan Second and Third Community Committees have all urged the military to mobilize as soon as possible. Give the people and the community an explanation for Chen Yuhui's death. Although the U.S. military sent personnel to Chen's home to offer condolences, it did not disclose any information about the investigation. For Chen's relatives, his life in Afghanistan remains a mystery. The only clue that can be found is the diary left by Chen. However, US military investigators only released three entries of all diaries to his family, and also withheld Chen's laptop and other personal belongings, which made his family very dissatisfied. Some U.S. media tried to contact soldiers who served with Chen Yuhui in Afghanistan, but no one responded, and no one contacted Chen's family. A spokesman for Chen's military camp also declined an interview because the case was under investigation. Amid the strong social attention, local politicians also responded. Congressman Veleguez, New York State House Speaker Xiao Hua, and City Councilmember Chen Qianwen all publicly put pressure on the military, calling for if there is indeed abuse or discrimination, it should Punish those responsible and give an explanation to the Chen family. Christopher Gray, spokesman for the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, said a "thorough" and "in-depth" criminal investigation has been launched into the case. He emphasized that the military attaches great importance to the cause of Chen's death and will definitely get to the bottom of it. However, no information will be disclosed to the outside world until the results of the investigation are available. Gray said that the progress of the investigation depends on factors such as the smoothness of evidence collection. The military must not only investigate the cause and manner of Chen Yuhui's death, but also the external circumstances that caused Chen Yuhui's death.

Li Changyu, a world-famous Chinese criminal expert, accepted the invitation of the local Chinese American Association (OCA) to form an expert group to independently identify the cause of Chen Yuhui's death, including identifying the autopsy report and investigation report released by the military. and other physical evidence.

Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York State called on the Department of Defense to comprehensively investigate the issue of bullying among soldiers in the military and its relationship to racial discrimination. He asked Pentagon officials to submit a report "in a few weeks" assessing the extent of the problem.