Zhang Hongjie

Zhang Hong Jie (1979–2004), also known as Steffi Zhang, was a 24-year-old international student studying communications at the University of Canberra in Australia when she was murdered in June 2004 by her ex-boyfriend Zhang Long, who fled to China. Six months later, her body was found in her flat in Belconnen in January 2005.

After an impasse between the Australian Government, the Australian Capital Territory, and Chinese officials over the lack of an extradition treaty and the possibility of Long being executed upon conviction in China, an agreement was reached in 2007 to not impose the death penalty. In 2009, Long was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted.

The circumstances of her death and length of time before her body was discovered made national headlines, sparking debate over the duty of care Australian universities provide to foreign students.

Background Zhang Hong Jie, or Steffi Zhang, was a 24-year-old international student at the University of Canberra in Australia at the time of her death in June 2004. Born in Shanghai, she came to Australia in February 2000, initially studying at the Canberra Institute of Technology before transferring in 2003.

Murder and discovery Following an argument between the couple on 10 June 2004, Steffi was strangled by her ex-boyfriend Zhang Long, using a computer cable wrapped twice around her neck and tied at the front. According to a statement given to Chinese police, Long said that the argument was over his insistence that she move to Sydney with him.

Investigation and arrest Identification of the decomposed remains took six weeks, with ACT Police working with counterparts in China to locate family members and match DNA samples. On 27 February 2005 a warrant was issued in the ACT Magistrates court for Long's arrest.

As of November 2005, Long remained in custody in China but had still not been charged with her murder. Under Chinese law, if the alleged victim and criminal are both Chinese citizens, an overseas crime can be tried in China. However the ACT Government led by Jon Stanhope expressed reluctance to co-operate with Chinese authorities without a guarantee that any conviction relying on evidence provided by ACT police would not result in the death penalty. Australian laws around mutual assistance with foreign criminal investigations forbid police cooperation in cases where a death penalty is possible without a formal assurance that it will not be used.

The Federal Government of Australia pressured the Australian Capital Territory to cooperate with the Chinese investigation into the murder, as written by a letter from John Howard to Chief Minister Stanhope in May 2005, and another request from Justice Minister Chris Ellison in June. The ACT government did not want to because it may mean Long would face a firing squad in China if convicted. The ACT Liberal opposition wanted the Chief Minister to use his Chinese contacts to bring Long to 'justice'. However, ultimately both the Commonwealth and ACT governments agreed not to cooperate unless Long would not face the death penalty.

In May 2007, Chinese authorities confirmed to Australian officials that Long would not face the death penalty if convicted. Subsequently, Australian Federal Police passed on details of the investigation to Chinese police. Long was convicted and sentenced in 2009 to life in prison.

Aftermath After the murder, the University of Canberra faced criticism for the long time that Steffi, one of its students, had been missing without being flagged. The oversight was the result of a glitch in a new centralised Higher Education Information Management System installed the semester after Steffi's death. The new system was meant to automatically notify Australian immigration officials when foreign students did not enroll in classes, but a computer error left Steffi's absences unrecorded. Immigration officials reprimanded the university and ordered it to verify class attendance for a semester. After the computer error was discovered, the university warned of possible legal action over claims that it was not doing enough for its international students.

Peter Quiddington, a professor of higher education, described the overall failure by the University of Canberra to notice the death as a symptom of issues with Australian higher education "triumph[ing] over basic human civility."