New Zealand's education minister Chris Carter Tuesday expressed concern and sorrow for a 15-year-old Chinese student who was assaulted by a member of his host family.

Competent authorities will handle the incident according to law, the minister said.

He also expressed the concern that the incident might bring negative impact to the country's endeavor to attract overseas students.

The Chinese student, Qian Ziyu, a student in a middle school in the South Island of New Zealand, was punched and injured by the father of his host family after a discussion about his transfer to another school in Auckland.

The education office of the Chinese embassy to New Zealand had contacted the student's parents and requested New Zealand's education ministry and departments concerned to deal with the incident impartially.

Officials of the education office met the parties involved in the South Island to discuss the issue.

The host involved would appear in court on assault charge Tuesday, police said.

Major newspapers in New Zealand reported the event, triggering strong protest from Chinese communities and Chinese students there.

Currently some 90,000 international students are studying in New Zealand schools, and the enrollment of foreign students has become an important source of revenue for the country.

(Xinhua News Agency July 15, 2008)