WHITESTONE — The Chinese student slashed in the face in an apparent case of mistaken identity says she's still wants "the dream" that brought her to the United States.
JiaJia Liang, 16, was slashed in the face while walking near her home on 13th Avenue and 147th Street on Dec. 16, police said.
The suspect was wearing a surgical mask and slashed Liang in the cheek and throat with a box cutter, according to officials.
Liang, who came to Queens from China for high school, needed 200 stitches, according to Assemblyman Ron Kim, whose office has started a fundraiser to help her pursue her dream.
She and her mother came to a press conference Thursday at Kim's Flushing office where he announced his plan to raise $75,000.
"The cuts are healing, and I still want to pursue my education," Liang said, through a translator.
Her mother thanked everyone for their support.
Kim and his wife visited Liang after the attack and said she told them, "I still want the dream."
The assemblyman said Liang "embodies the grit, determination, and resilience that has made this city, state, and country great," and he has a responsibility to support her.
The fundraiser come days after the suspected slasher returned to the victim's home, saying he attacked the wrong girl.
He returned Monday and left a note for the intended target, writing "Stop being a slut. You f---ed the wrong person," sources said.
A car belonging to a woman at the house was also egged and its windows super glued by associates of the slasher, sources said.
Investigators believe the slasher is connected to a man in jail who is embroiled in a contentious break-up with a young woman and that he dispatched others to attack her, sources said.
Det. Robert Boyce confirmed Thursday that the December incident was not random and the car incident was related to the slashing.
"That particular case there was a criminal mischief to a vehicle we believe was tied to that slashing," he said. "It is what we thought it was, it was not random."
