Horror: A violinist is attacked with stones in Salzburg
NewsThis attack took place in the early evening, 200 metres from the Hotel Sacher.
Here’s a police statement by the Salzburg-resident violinist Ziyu He:
On November 13th, 2022 at around 7:30 p.m. I went for a walk along the footpath and cycle path next to the Salzach. I wanted to walk in the direction of Itzling. At the level of the Evangelical Church on the footpath and cycle path, I saw a group of 8-10 men sitting next to the footpath and cycle path. I think the group of men are of Eastern European descent. When I was right next to the group of men, one of them threw a small rock at me and hit me on the right shoulder. However, I was not injured by this stone throwing. I then took my headphones out of my ears and asked the group why they did that. A man from the group came up to me and punched me on the left side of my face with his right fist, breaking my optical glasses and falling to the ground. Then both of my headphones fell to the ground. The punch was carried out by the perpetrator without prior notice. I fell to the ground immediately after the punch and didn’t notice anything for 2 seconds. When I came to, I stood up again and could perceive that the same man was coming to me again. I then said that I would call the police, but the group and the man just laughed. When the man came back to me, he hit me again on the left side of my face with his right fist. I then told the man to leave me alone and just let me go. I could hear the other men in the group scolding me in the background. I could hear words like “son of a bitch.” I then ran away in the direction of the Staatsbrücke. I could still perceive that the man was following me. I was terrified for my life and screamed “help” “police”, but nobody helped me. After about 40-50 meters the man stopped following me. I immediately called the police and went to the Hotel “Sacher” where I contacted the officer. The police officers then took me to the scene of the crime. After a short search for my lost glasses or headphones, they were found on the bottom of the footpath and cycle path. The group of men and the man who hit me were no longer there. I estimate the man who hit me is about 1,60 1,70 cm tall. Has dark brown, short hair. I’m not sure but I believe this is of Eastern European origin. If I saw the perpetrator again, I would recognize him. A photo of me was taken by the police at the time of the injury, which clearly shows that my cheek is swollen below my left eye. When I fell, I fell on the right side of my buttocks and my right wrist, which still hurt.I’m going to see a doctor tomorrow to have the injuries looked at
I join in the event of a proceeding as a private party.
I hope they catch the malefactors.
However, it is not PC to identify perpetrators by race or ethnicity, or by purported national origin, especially something as vague as “Eastern European”, which could be a Bulgarian, or a Czech, or an Estonian, who in terms of type look and have accents entirely different from one another.
Suppose someone saw Mr. Ziyu He perform and called him a violinist of “East Asian origin”?
Would that be correct?
– Not if he’s second-generation born and raised in Salzburg, he would be quite offended as not being identified as a good Austrian.
– Not if that implies that all Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Mongolians look alike and speak with the same accent and should be lumped together vaguely as “East Asian”
Then what would he have said then, genius?
He said: “I estimate the man … is about …1,70 cm … dark brown, short hair. I’m not sure but I believe this is of Eastern European origin.”
You know who fits this description?
Adolf Hitler or 50% of the adult male Austrian population.
So you ask — and allow me to paraphrase — how would victims in China describe a perpetrator who fits 50% of the adult male Chinese population? As “East Asian”? That would be the most useless piece of information of any information one could give.
One would have to describe the face in detail, the clothing in detail, the voice in detail, the accent in detail, the haircut in detail, and identify any distinct/unique feature.
Absolute malarkey. If you were trying to find a stolen car, wouldn’t the color of the car come into play? I don’t think most people would refer to an Estonian as “Eastern European”. Bulgarians and Czechs would (while different) have some similar features. Give me a break, man. Another nutcase on the side of the criminals.
Wow. Hard to say if you are trying to wind us up or are simply patently intolerant. Supposing you are mugged next week. What description would you provide the police of your assailant who, in this fictitious case, is either Chinese or resembles a Chinese person or both? Do all noodle soups look the same to you?
Mr Ziu was beaten up and in fear of his life. He was also not native to Austria To expect any detailed knowledge on the accents the perpetrators used is a bit far fetched.
Finally, someone with common sense here. Those guys were so outrageous in broad daylight simply because they knew the chances of them getting caught was slim. Also, Ziyu is a prodigy violinist who won first prize of the Paganini competition. What if, during the assult, his hand/wrist gets injured? Then his career would be ruined. One can only assume that this is a racist hate crime, and as an Asian myself I sincerely hope this kind of stuff doesn’t happen again.
How does that relate to the fact that men of PC origin PC laugh when threatened with the PC police?
Oh Jesus, really?
“Eastern European origin”. Oh dude. I wonder how that piece of info would be useful.
I wish Ziyu He a full recovery, not just from the physical harm he suffered, but also the mental trauma. It sounds like a terrifying experience.
I don’t know about Salzburg, but in many parts of the U.S., jogging with headphones after dark on a semi-rural path along a river would be a recipe for trouble. I’m not blaming Mr. Ziyu is the least. He definitely didn’t deserve this, based on his account. But worth keeping in mind for future workouts.
So how how “East Europeans” look? they are 160 – 170 cm tall and have dark brown hair? I live in Eastern Europe, I am 160 cm tall and have a dark brown hair. But then I am a woman, and even compared only to other women, I am uncharacteristically small and uncharacteristically dark.
There is no such thing as an Eastern European look exactly as there is no Western or Central European look.
This gentleman was mugged and we can guess what he meant when he said what he said but why NL reprints it is beyond my understanding.
He also testified that “I could hear words like “son of a bitch.” In what language? In East European or Central European?
Frankly.
Why has no none on this thread condemned this attack as racist? Is it now unacceptable to at least pose that possibility? It seems that a lot of people want to protect the perpetrators (caucasian in this case) rather than the victim.
Tiredofitall: I agree. The argument in the new world order of today seems to be counter-racism.
That’s how things are resolved today…
Wishing Mr.Ziyu He all the best.
Thankfully Europe is not America. And he was walking along the river right in the middle of Salzburg, not in some semi rural part of the country. He should have been perfectly safe.
? . . . what is your point? He was beaten up along a river in a fairly upper class, touristy town – irrespective of whether that town was in Europe, or in the U.S.A. Are you suggesting American police wouldn’t want to know, or not help out with this incident? . . . If so, I think you’re distinctly wrong (and especially in an ‘upper crust’ type of town).
Because Alan’s response was a typically European (untravelled) view of American crime.
I live both realities and don’t have to rely on sensationalist news reports.
The river path in Salzburg goes through some very quiet areas once you leave the downtown. I don’t know where precisely this occurred but regardless, jogging after dark, alone with headphones seems risky regardless of the country.
Hence, my point that this could happen on any side of the Atlantic – or anywhere else.
The 23-year-old kid must be quite shook up, disillusioned and traumatized after being mugged at night.
He was courageous (or naive) to address the large group.
After 11 years in Austria, and as a musician, he probably IS capable of identifying “eastern European” accents. Accents are, after all, a kind of spoken music.
No, he could recognize “slavic” accent but not “Eastern European” one. The same about their looks. “Eastern Europe” contains not only Slavic countries (Russia, Belarus, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia) but also Baltic countries (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia), Hungary and Romania. The languages of these countries have nothing in common with Slavic languages and their inhabitants do not have a Slavic accent when speaking German. On the other hand slavic languages are spoken in many Balkan countries – although not in all of them either.
Do, for example, Italians and Brits speaking German have the same “Western European” accent? no one would say THAT and rightly so because it’s absurd. As speaking about “Eastern European” accent (and look) is.
Stereotyping is from reality. People convey their culture and many other things with their mere presence, let alone their behavior. Get a brain.
For god’s sake, an innocent man is brutally harmed, and all you’re worried about is being PC??? He gave what little info he had to the authorities so that they could search for the bastards, and they will know how to process the info – however un-PC it is. Sheesh….
Exactly. His only real mistake was divulging that part of what he told the police to the press. Best to stay mum so that, hopefully, the police can successfully do their job.
Given the victim’s ethnic origin, it’s odds on this was a racist attacks. Yet somehow, he has been transformed into a racist.
These kinds of guys have no desire to be civilized, you should have kept your distance. Your reasoning with them only made it worse. Horrible thing to experience. They are probably refugees who didn’t deserve entry.
It is outrageous to read how many here would rather deal with the victim’s description of the perpetrator than care about the criminal act itself! It is very awful that something like this happened to him in an idyllic and civilised town like Salzburg and that nobody reacted despite calls for help! Austria is currently experiencing a wave of asylum seekers who of course are not allowed to work, have no education or manners, and the risk of such incidents happens, is rapidly increasing in all austrian cities. Especially Afghans, Tchechens, Moroccans and Syrians are particularly prominent in the crime statistics. They seem to love violence, they only left their home countries to search more income. (Now you are invited to start bashing me)
I won’t.