Lin Zexu
Pierson and US consular official Myrl Myres claimed that Shen Chong was a prostitute, and such claim contributed to the public anger. Shen Chong was reportedly from an elite family of Shen Baozhen and Lin Zexu, and was studying in the most prestigious university in China; thus the claim she was a prostitute was viewed as adding insult to injury. Selective reporting in US media and later acquittal of the soldiers added more fuel to then Chinese public rage against American military presence in China.