A Chinese man who stabbed 29 children and three teachers was sentenced to death after a half-day trial on Saturday as the government sought to ease public dismay over a string of school attacks. Xu Yuyuan, 47, an unemployed local man, was found guilty of attacking a kindergarten in Taixing city in eastern Jiangsu province last month, the Xinhua news agency reported. A string of attacks at Chinese schools has killed a total of 27 people and injured more than 80 since March, prompting calls for better protection of students and worries about the social malaise that some see underneath China's rapid economic growth, Reuters reported. Nobody died in Xu's attack, but he was convicted of homicide, which in Chinese law also covers the intention to kill, said the Xinhua report. The assaults on children have triggered public alarm, especially among parents and officials have vowed to "strike hard" against the problem, meaning swift trials and harsh punishment for anyone found culpable.
