China and Boston linked in sorrow

As emergency responders rushed to help the victims of the marathon bomb, police were pulling down multi-colored flags that had adorned the barrier between spectators and the street. Those flags represented the many nations whose nationals were running the race, a magnet for athletes from all around the world.

So it is particularly poignant that the third victim of the Boston Marathon bombing was a graduate student from China. 23-year-old Lu Lingzi, who was studying statistics at Boston University in hopes of pursuing a career in finance. She came with a friend to watchthe race: that friend is now among the injured.

It's hard to imagine the pain her parents are suffering, so far away from their only child on whom they no doubt pinned high hopes. Clearly this ambitious young Chinese woman had already made a mark, as dozens of her fellow students combed Boston hospitals, trying to locate her.

Lu was one of 200,000 Chinese students now studying in the USA. Bloggers in Beijing, mourning her death, have noted that terrorists now attack Chinese as well as Americans. Lu's tragic death is further evidence that the attack on the Boston Marathon was an attack on the world.