Domestic abuse, cultural divide in spotlight as Chinese tech worker faces US charges in wife’s killing
- Spousal violence can be pronounced among immigrants who are socially or culturally isolated, experts say, and there often is a stigma about seeking help
- A Google software engineer from Sichuan province faces first-degree murder charges in California after his wife, a fellow hi-tech worker, was beaten to death
After receiving a tip in mid-January, police in northern California checked on a house to find a 27-year-old Google software engineer and Chinese national with “blood on his clothing, his legs, arms, and hands” and his wife’s lifeless body nearby, according to court documents. Sitting motionless on his knees, Chen Liren had his hands in the air and was staring ahead blankly, a police report added.
California Superior Court documents identified the victim on the bedroom floor in their US$2 million home as Yu Xuanyi, also 27 and a Google software engineer. “I believe Suspect Chen murdered his wife, victim Yu, by striking her in the head repeatedly,” a Santa Clara detective wrote.
Silicon Valley is known for its corporate campuses and toy-strewn open offices. But the grisly case has highlighted another side, the stress that high-powered engineers and other immigrants face as they battle professional and cultural hurdles and pressing social expectations. Compounding the problem is a huge shortfall in US mental health and domestic abuse services catering to Asian-Americans, as immigrants grapple with language issues and different notions of privacy that often discourage them from seeking help.
“If only there wasn’t such a strong stigma, and given early intervention, a lot of these tragedies could be avoided,” said Elaine Peng, president of the Mental Health Association for Chinese Communities, based in Castro Valley, California, which is among the few groups in Silicon Valley or elsewhere catering to troubled Cantonese- and Mandarin-speakers. “It’s too bad that nobody noticed the seriousness of his problem so he could get help early on.”
Many details and the motivation behind Chen’s alleged murder of Yu remain unknown and may only emerge at trial later this year. Nor is it known if Chen will cite mental health in his defence. But experts say problems the couple appeared to face fit patterns commonly seen in their counselling work.
Chinese and other Asian engineers working in the US often have stellar academic backgrounds before landing a job at Google, Meta or other leading US firms. Chen, from Sichuan province, and Yu, from Jilin province, were top students at their high schools before attending Beijing’s Tsinghua University and the University of California, San Diego.
