Tianya Reactions to Chinese Asylum Seekers's 2-day Rooftop Protest

Australia recently saw several waves of illegal immigrants promising suicides if they were not granted asylum. The latest group to threaten death was Chinese, prompting a "lively" discussion on the popular Tianya forum...

Translation: 9 Chinese Nationals Climb Rooftop in Sydney on Mid-Autumn Festival and Threaten to Jump

First post by sydneyaus

On September 22, 2010, 9 Chinese nationals climbed onto a rooftop in Sidney and claimed that they would jump.

The group of nine includes both men and women who are staying in Australia illegally on expired visas. The Australian government has sent them to detention center to await deportation.

Yesterday, these 9 people climbed onto a 1-story high rooftop. They claim that if sent home, they will be subjected to persecution and torture at the hands of Chinese government. If Australia does not give them the green card and allow them to stay in the country indefinitely, they shall collectively jump to their death the next day.

Among them was a 20-something pregnant woman. She had been in the detention center for more than 6 months and is now 2 months pregnant. She is leveraging her pregnancy in her request for permanennt resident status.

Comments which rapidly degenerated into name-calling and cussing:

鹤发童颜美少爷　2010-09-23　10:29:24　

This group seems to meet none of the immigration criteria.

I hope they won't come back.

Those who always blame the sky, the earth, and the government--governments on both sides at that--should set up their own nation.

　　

不醉醒　2010-09-23　10:58:17　

The rooftop has the same height as the utility poles, and the poles are only two-men tall. What kind of human being would climb a short two-story building to threaten suicide? This is shameful. China should refuse them entry back into the border.

　　　　

zhj_mv　2010-09-23　10:23:33　

How is that woman 2 months pregnant when she has been in the detention center for 6 months?

马甲123　2010-09-23　11:01:25

Conditions of their prison stay are quite lax. Both sexes are allowed to mingle. She made very good use of her time

sydneyaus　2010-09-23　11:02:25　

6 months detention. 2 months pregnancy.

There were more than 5000 so-called refugees at the detention center.

The community is co-ed and people can move about freely.

Sort of like house arrest. They just can't leave the detention center.

The woman started sleeping with a Chinese man, so she conceived.

最爱哈士奇　2010-09-23　11:12:08　

Despite of an uncertain future, she still remembered to continue the family line. You gotta respect her spirit.

DreamingKing1227　2010-09-23　13:08:17　

She should add one more statement: If I don't giver birth to my child here, China will force me to abort the fetus. Balabalabala.

The rooftop doesn't look too high. Little kids might get a broken bone or two. I hope they don't find out after making the jump that they can't even get a scratch. Then they might have to return to the rooftop and promise "We will jump again at 3:00 AM if you refuse our requests!"

坐火箭的猪胖胖　2010-09-23　10:53:17　

Good riddance. Jump, don't wait! We can't afford to lose more face. And is China as terrible as what they say? Persecuting them? What did they do?

番茄是　2010-09-23　11:00:42　

These things don't look like the type that China would persecute and toruture.

People who don't have what it takes will always be unsuccessful regardless of whether they are in China or Australia.

斜倚悠然　2010-09-23　10:59:17　

Correction--

Not everyone qualifies to be an asylee. Mostly people are illegal immigrations.

The conditions for becoming a refuge are strict. Since China is not afflicted by wars or catastrophes, it is hard to seek asylum.

As far as what people do to get green cards--these are not the worst. Some people will join Falun Gong so that they can stay in the U.S. once visas expire.

What they did isn't all that atrocious. After abandoning all they had in China, going through all this trouble to come to Australia, and then not be able to make money, they don't want to return for fear of neighbors' ridicule. To avoid losing face, they would rather die.

湖边的猫　2010-09-23　16:43:36　　　

Therefore they do their best to trash China. If they qualify for political asylum, they can get refugee visa. I mean, many foreigners already think Red China is evil; talking on the street lands you in jail or leads to death or something.

　　

I don't know how it is in Australia. But in Europe where I am staying, asylees must abide by all kinds of rules to receive sustenance. They regularly report [to the government] and once assigned a place, they can't easily go anywhere else. Once I met a man on the street who asked me to read a letter. It was a fine notice because he had traveled to another city for fun.

　　

I really don't understand people that go to strange places to receive the minimal subsistence while having to endure constant surveillance.

天神的眼泪　2010-09-23　10:38:37　

No wonder, Fujian people again. They come from Province of Illegal Immigration

何方妖涅　2010-09-23　11:10:54　

I also feel ashamed, but Fujian is not the only province to produce illegal immigrants.　

　

Fujianers want to go out only because many overseas Chinese are from here.

Not as many from other provinces go because there aren't anyone to care for them once they get to the other side.

I might not like Fujian, but I don't tolerate people criticizing her either.

外貌协会会长　2010-09-23　12:22:45　

This angers and amuses me at the same time.

Rooftops will be in high demand if the Australian government acquiesces to their requests.

Can they even die by jumping off an one-story building? At the worst, they can become crippled.

If they really wished to jump, why not seek out a skyscraper?

China is not at war, how can there be refugees?

And what could they have possibly done to deserve persecution?

Australia, let them jump. They can reincarnate as foreigners in the next life.

China doesn't want them back either.

出门探荷　2010-09-23　12:52:09　

They could be from the southeast coast region. Not sure about the province.

To them, deportation after they had borrowed money to leave China is a fate worse than death.

In those regions, people cannot lend you money to go to college but they can finance illegal immigration.

Those of you who surf the internet during work hours will never understand their predicament.

　　

漫天飞舞的滚滚　2010-09-23　12:52:41　

These people just want to be freeloaders in Australia, because China doesn't have the proper conditions for parasites.

Bad English, no work skills to speak off...

The government is obligated to take care of them once they receive green cards. They don't even have to work. What a fantastic plan.

Utterly unambitious 20 year olds. Wasted no time rolling in the haystack though.

Mkliuss　2010-09-23　13:43:36　

Australia should let them jump. They demand human rights? Well, you wanted to die, so we couldn't very well stop you or we would be neglecting your rights. Jump jump!

不再8了　2010-09-23　15:52:04　

Since they so badly want to be Australians, China should take back their Chinese citizenship.

白桦林的两个版本　2010-09-23　16:30:04　

Reading this post four hours later. They are still tarrying.

本后_啧啧啧　2010-09-23　16:55:17　

From Fujian...

One time when I was at the embassy for my visa, a student next to me had his application rejected all because his home town was in Fujian.

Why are these people bent on giving Fujian citizens trouble?

Just because they aren't making as much money, they resort to illegal immigration. Selfish bastards. Young, strong people can't make a living in China?

And they dared to talk about persecution. Even if the government doesn't do it, their hometown residents will kill them.

DONGXIE1　2010-09-23　20:54:16　

I believe that this news will only prove one thing, that is--Australian houses have really good rooftops, which can support the weight of 9 humans including a pregnant woman. These also are 9 fairly emotional individuals doing some stomping. Yet, the rooftop withstood all that.

I suggest Chinese buildings learn from their Australian counterparts.

丢失的酒瓶　2010-09-23　21:23:06　

I don't feel they caused Chinese to lose face. They only represent themselves, not me.

In contrast, the Chinese government caused us to lose face long ago. Like it would rather donate money to foreign countries than to its suffering citizens.

How nice it would be if 90% of Australians were Chinese.　　　　

寒雪孤鸿　2010-09-24　00:31:32　

It only costs a few thousand Australian dollars to purchase refugee status from Falun Gong. In return, one can never go back to China. Normal people aren't willing to make this sacrifice.

These 9 who would rather lose face than paying that money are truly some fine specimens.

Although this is bad of me to say, Australia should make them permanent residents so that they won't come back and harm China.

verypink　2010-09-24　07:45:43　

Why do I think Australia did this one purpose?

Look at the rooftop. They cannot possibly die from falling. Put a few air cushions underneath, and let the police drag them down.

Instead, Australia invited every news station large and small, carrying tons of cameras.

They even provided the 9 with food and water...making sure they have a great time up there, lest they come down.

Soon the whole world will learn of China's persecution and that these people would rather jump off buildings than face it.

wjqsbd　2010-09-24　08:51:01　

I'd rather die than going back to China. I can well imagine the hell China is. Everybody on that rooftop is quite sensible.

渡潇湘过五湖　2010-09-24　09:21:07　

Look at all these replies

"We all await the moment when they jump. 56 minutes. Counting down!!!"

"Chomping on apple while waiting"

"Eating plum while waiting"

"Drinking tea while waiting. Die. Find a Australian family to be reborn into, then they will become Australian citizens"

"Eating beef jerky while waiting."

"Happily waiting"

"Putting both legs up on the desk and waiting."

"Hubby taking a bath first and I am cleaning the rooms. They will probably have jumped by the time we finish bathing and cleaning."

These people look like they can eat blood buns. Let's first not discuss whether those young men did right or wrong. The replies fully show the inferiority of our nation which hasn't made progress in the past 100 years or so. Don't forget, your lack of sympathy for others means that in the future you will be on the receiving end of such jeering.

讨厌死机　2010-09-24　09:38:12　

Jump, don't worry about the Chinese face which has been lost long time ago. It makes no difference if you lose it again, at least you are fighting for a better future. God gave us rights. Good luck to you all.

lookforgun　2010-09-24　09:38:57　

These materialistic, low quality, treasonous illegal immigrants from Fujian and other coastal areas is the main reason other countries look down on Chinese. These are the true scums. They are our shame!

关公面前玩小刀　2010-09-24　09:43:11　

At first I was going to say how unfortunate these people are to die in a foreign country. After reading post I kind of wilted.

sozj　2010-09-24　09:43:04　

The pressures and stress of living in China are too much. Social warefare is terrible. I feel numb watching those news day in and day out. The people who finally escaped, of course they will do everything possible to stay.

杜博简 2010-09-24　10:05:21　

This forum is crawling with retards, who have nothing better to do than to gossip. They can't even show some sympathy for their brothers and sisters. This is the typical Chinese slave mentality: even though they belong to the oppressed class whose interests are trampled, they still like to consider problems from rulers' standpoint. The concept of nation and ethnicity in this case is too limited. We need to take a humanitarian view when talking about the pursuit of happiness.

Why should we be doomed to servitude just because we are Chinese? Yes, the rich and powerful can legally sent their scions abroad to experience life in the abyss of misery called captialism , but is their money really clean? Why can't normal people fight for a better life? Is money that come from corruption or tax evasion any different than loot?

Illegal immigration is popular in Fujian because everybody who left China are able to improve their lives. So they would rather die in a foreign land than come home. Now who should be reflecting on this?

flw9804m　2010-09-24　10:37:45

Bro, I strongly support you. Those SBs aren't human. People are about to kill themselves, yet all the SBs can say are "die quickly, why haven't you died yet?" If this were their neighbors back in China, they probably would also say, "drop dead; don't taint our community reputation. You deserve to die. The important thing is I live well." A bunch of idiots. Worse than brutes.

DONGXIE1　2010-09-24　10:43:55　

Do you really think their shameful action is justified? Is it right to threaten suicide and lose face so that they can get green cards?

　　　　　　

China sucks, any country is 100% better than China, is this what you think?

Even if China were terrible and other countries more humanitarian, I have to point out again that tourist visas only require a few thousand yuan. Collect enough trip fare and you can all be on your way to the imaginary happy life.

flw9804m　2010-09-24　10:50:30　

Regardless, these are your country men. Though you would like to deny it, the same blood flows in our veins. They are just like you and me.

All other issues can be resolved, but life is too important. Netizens who goad people to jump are lower than animals. In this post, I have glimpsed into the dark psyche of many Chinese. What a group of SB idiots.

兰露雅　2010-09-24　11:09:01　

Just to be clear, they would rather die than be your country man. Calling you a peacock [narcissistic] insults the peacock's intelligence. Besides, I don't consider sell outs my compatriots.

fengleiiloveyou1　2010-09-24　11:31:05　

Sigh, I don't know what to say, but I want to leave China too. Housing prices are too high, wages too low, no security in life, kid tuitions too much. I am afraid to get sick, because I have no money to pay for doctors and medicines. I would willingly die if doing so can procure a better life for my children.

未央柳如眉　2010-09-24　11:41:45　

All you elitists quit jumping up and down. China is poor. There is a gap between China and Australia. But this does not justify their SB actions.

　　

Consider a poor family and a rich family. Some poor SB sneak into the rich people's house, see that a few lazy bums are having a good time, so they decide to squat. They demand that the rich people feed them for the rest of their lives; otherwise, they would hang themselves. This is some messed up logic!

　　

They are making us lose face big time. Die and be born elsewhere.

thisisengland　2010-09-25　07:19:56　

I live in England. You can't imagine how many Fujian illegal immigrants are here. Most of them have legal status--the asylum seekers. Even though China doesn't have war or turmoil, as long as Fujian people can get into England, toss away their visa, and tell the police that they want asylum, then they can't very easily be deported.

　　

Due to nature of my employment, I have come into contact with quite a few illegals. I was sympathetic at first. After a while, 9 out of 10 make me angry. They are exactly the ignorant and backward Chinese Lu Xun wrote about. They come here, receive government subsidies, live in government housing, or pay for housing with government money. They enjoy free medical care and are reguarly visited by social workers. However, they take all this for granted, and then, they find some way to work illegally.

　　

During the two years of my work, I have rarely met any grateful Fujian refugees.

　　

Countless Netizens before have urged us to have more sympathy. Some even talked about human rights. I totaly agree that every man has a right to pursue happiness, as long as he doesn't hurt others, complies with social norms, and abides by the bottom lies. The ones I have seen are focused solely on gold digging. They think getting higher education and learning English (even the most basic) are baloney. When others help them, it is because these people want to help them [so they owe the helpers nothing]. But as soon as a hurdle appears, they start cussing the awful British government and complain about England. Fuck, didn't you ask to come here first? You climbed mountains, crossed rivers, rode cars and boats, risked your lives, and paid tons of money to the snakeheads, because you thought all you had to do is show up in England and start harvesting money.

　　

So these men come from Fujian villages. Due to the current situation in China, local investments in education are lacking and some regions have not developed. Since birth, these people has had much fewer opportunies than children born in Beijing and Shanghai. Nevertheless, the lagging rural develpment isn't confined to Fujian. What about the northwest? What about poor provinces located inland? Fuqing Fujian is by no means the poorest. Should the poorer regions kill themselves too? The impressions I have of these refugees is that they don't care for education or living a better life via their own ability. Their concept for improving their lot in life is: instead of going to school unnecessarily, they should illegally enter another country while they are still young and make a few bucks, be it in U.S., Europe, Canada, Australia, or Japan.

　　

I also believe that illegal immigation in Fuqing Fujian regions is not a problem to be solved in one day. A huge network has formed over time, consisting of contacts, snakeheads, and people to help them settle in after they arrive. The locals have many fixed ideas concerning all this.

　　

Thus, I firmly support Western nations' efforts to crack down illegal immigration. Tolerance in the past has made these "refugees" eager and fearless. If the governments don't mete out punishment and make a case, then they are indirectly encouraging human trafficking and transnational organized crime.

　

I don't have even a penny worth of sympathy for these 9.

A Lesson in Dishonesty

Translation: (From Zheng Yuanjie's microblog)

A true story that took place in one of Beijing's key elementary schools: the class head master asked students to anonymously write down their opinions of her, promising no retaliation regardless of the content. Two children voiced negative opinions. The head master was enraged. She demanded that whoever wrote these negative comments to surrender and confess. The class fell silent. Sneeringly, the teacher proceeded to read the eulogies. Once she finished reading, the writer had to come up to claim ownership. Thus, she was able to screen her pupils one by one, in the manner of the movie The Message. Finally the two culprits were caught. This marked the beginning of their hellish fates. They might be better off dead.

The tweet has been re-posted numerous times on Chinese websites, newspapers, and forums. As someone so eloquently put it, the teacher was too good in that she managed to decimate the only two honest kids in her class. The deed must be recognized.

P.S. Have been adapting to some recent major life changes. Will try to update more regularly now..

Why Diploma Fraud Won't Be the End of Tang Jun?

The debate is still raging, but essayist and blogger "hecaitou" (和菜头) has already made his prediction of the outcome.

Translation: 为什么文凭打不倒唐骏

The argument over Dr. Tang Jun's (唐骏) academic credentials is sad, because his scholarly record merely is an insignificant detail in the grand scheme of things. Whether Tang Jun obtained his Ph.D. from PWU or from CIT's computer science department (better known as Caltech to some) does not matter. The real issue is this: why is there always a market for people with a tall tale, and why does the public proceed to deify them?

Yan Xin (严新) claimed that he could direct a missile or put out a forest fire in the Greater Khingan, with thoughts alone. Mou Qizhong (牟其中) talked about his plan to convert plateau to green grassland by blasting the Himalayas. And our very familiar Hongzhi Li --according to his boasts, so many Buddhas had fallen and died while trying to climb high enough to see him. There are also the quack doctor who treated everybody with sodium sulfate, the farmer who produced fake photos of endangered tigers, and the just now exposed doctor who proclaimed mung beans to be a cure-all. The past few decades have spawned an endless string of niubi criminals. It was an era during which speculators and opportunists commanded great forces and bewitched the hearts.


To be fair, compared to other niubi criminals, Tang Jun has more substance under his belt. Maybe Bill Gates didn't enthusiastically invite him to stay for another term, but Tang had indisputably been the president overseeing the then relatively small China market. If time could roll back, Chen Tianqiao (陈天桥) might not think that Shanda's IPO needed Tang Jun, but Tang still became a president and director of Shanda. Even now Tang's position in Newhuadu Industrial Group is real. By today's standards, Tang Jun is a success story in the business circle. He continuously received promotions, not demotions. What more can a career person ask for?

After admitting his success, you should then come to realize one thing: diploma is not Dr. Tang Jun's Achilles tendon. Since the Chinese are a strictly pragmatic people, neither PWU nor Caltech affects how the public view him. In fact, a PWU diploma is better [than a Caltech diploma]. Having no diploma would actually be perfect--as one of the beloved Chinese proverb says, "birth is much but accomplishments mean more." In a nation where a majority of the population do not have bachelor's degree and where academics directly affect job placements, an illiterate hero will be welcomed by most citizens as one of them. The longer those intellectual elites dwell on the diploma, the more support this illiterate hero will receive from the masses. A prolonged diploma debate will only make more people sympathize with Tang. Many of Tang's attackers do not understand this, because they have never lived among the masses. They don't understand how people think, and they can't emulate common thinking.


Instead, one valid question could be: did Tang lie? Did he lie on his resume? Did he lie in his autobiography? (see how Tang tries to get out of this one and if you can read Chinese, visit 蓝狮子与唐骏博士之绝配 to read what one writer said about his personal dealings with the publisher) Did he lie during his speeches and promotions? People very much desire an answer.

It is more important to focus on the crux rather than the minutiae of the problem. All great scam artists religiously follow the teachings of Wei Xiaobao: they will tell the main event truthfully but embellish it with such details, and they are not afraid to lie. Their bluffs blow only when these embellishments begin to dominate their lives. It is like that intolerable dish where the carved carrot decorations cover the entire plate. But even when people question the details, as long as the main story holds true, the player can still go through the crisis unscathed.

Luckily, Chinese are a very self-conflicting breed. They are extremely utilitarian and pragmatic, yet they can be as innocent as the Puritans. They respect xiaoxiong (枭雄, a fierce and ambitious person; for example, Cao Cao and Napoleon; Hitler also qualifies). Even if the success came through illegal and dishonest means, these xiaoxiong will be praised as "skilled" and "knowing the ways". At the same time, Chinese impose harsh standards on mainstream heroes, who must exhibit almost perfect morality, for there is zero tolerance for any small defect. Tang Jun is a xiaoxiong pretending to be a hero, so the only force that can cause damage to him is morality: the issue of integrity cannot be circumvented, and it is the only point on which his attackers have a stand.


I am very pessimistic concerning the outcome. There will be no solid results, because too many successful people switch between their xiaoxiong and hero personas. When the hero front is questioned, challenged, and defeated, they immediately become xiaoxiong and emphasize their accomplishments. Suddenly the questions and investigations just become a matter of "the loser is always vilified." Everybody then concedes that he is indeed "skilled" and stops obstructing his road to money and prosperity. Think back to the last few decades, which single public figure was severely punished for lying? When did the shit digging ever achieve anything? Did Richard Li's fake academic records affect his company? Or did Bruno Wu's Sun Media investments fail due to his purchased degree?

There has been one exception to the rule. The man went to jail. His name is Zhou Zhenglong (周正龙). And he is a farmer.


Only till this point have we come to the real questions that must be asked in the wake of Tang Jun news:

Why do niubi criminal succeed more easily?

Why are lies more profitable than integrity?

Why is the society so fixated on success and fortune?

Why are lying, bluffing, and niubi the only routes to more opportunities?

If a society were truly founded on principles of equality, and the procedures fair, will scam artists still succeed?

Does a dishonest alliance exist? So that nobody willingly exposes the fraud because he either profits from the lies or does not want the bigger embarrassment of admitting he has been duped? Or, perhaps, there is a consensus: integrity means nothing.



Finally, why is our media busy glorifying these public figures, why do our universities open doors to them, and why do we drink up the stories told by these con artists, only waking up when the tales become intolerably bizarre?

I think we must be missing something, lost something along the way. Our lives are much sweeter because of this loss, since a fixation on success distances us from the reproaches of the conscience. Once pragmatism gives us the boldness to scale all ethical fences, we achieve great victories one after another. Now tell me: do you really care about whether Tang Jun had lied?


Tang Jun, Yan Jun, any fast running horse is a fine horse (Note: a pun on Jun, which means good steed). Amen!

---

Related Post

More CEOs Drawn into Tang Jun's Fake Academic Credentials Scandal

An Advertisement from One Immigration Agency

Translation: 为什么您应该移民加拿大美国？

Dear Customers, why should you immigrate to America?

1. Children

Any children born in the U.S. are automatically naturalized, whereas in Beijing you have to pay 240,000 yuan for each birth that violates the one-child policy.

In U.S. you may have additional children without fearing fines. In Canada, the government even pays for your baby formula.

2. Primary and secondary school tuition

In the U.S., local residents enjoy compulsory [and free] K-12 education.

If an intermediary agency arranges for your schools and visas, then tuition becomes more than $30,000 per year after the children arrive in the U.S. (approaching 210,000 yuan). 3 consecutive years equals more than 600,000 yuan.

3. College tuition

In-state residents only pay $3000 annually to attend U.S. universities, but out-of-state students must pay $20,000. Immigration can save you $17,000 per year x 4 years = $68,000 (or approximately 500,000 yuan)

4. Student loans

U.S. and Canadian students can easily obtain loans. In fact, many students put themselves through college with loans and wages. Permanent residents 18 years or older are eligible to apply for all kinds of student loans, which may be paid back after graduation in installments that are only 10%-20% of their salary. International students, on the other hands, are not entitled to these benefits.

5. Government-assisted job search

The U.S. government has various specialized departments helping citizens search for jobs free. Permanent residents just need to register with these departments and describe their skill sets and strengths, after which job opportunities information are sent to them without charge. At the same time, these departments fund many training programs for the jobless, such as computer and English classes.

6. Travel

A majority of nations excuse U.S. permanent residents from obtaining visa.

7. Back-home Investments

Green card holders qualify as overseas Chinese. Their investments back home in China are treated as foreign or joint ventures and enjoy many preferential policies.

8. Retirement Benefits

Once U.S. green card holders have paid taxes for ten years (greater than $50 in tax each month), they may after retirement (around 65 years old) receive social security anywhere from $700 to $1200.

9. Unemployment benefits

People who had normal income and paid tax for longer than 6 months can request government assistance at relevant departments when they become unemployed. The assistance is $600-1200 per month.

10. The humane treatment you will receive after accidents

In the case of accidents (traffic accident or sudden illnesses), the U.S. makes human lives its top priority. Even if you tell the hospitals that you have no money to pay for surgery, doctors still strive to rescue you.

11. Other reasons

U.S. has clean air, blue skies, pure drinking water, large lawns where children can play, better municipal policies, and superior traffic management. People there are relatively calmer.

You need not worry that your child will die from Sanlu milk or ingest toxic food colorings, drainage oil and hormone overdoses in meat.

"Media Kills People"

From Chen Wending's microblog. Chen Wending (陈文定) is the head of Southern Metropolis Daily's reporter station in Shenzhen.

I was just attending a government departmental meeting. One furious cadre said: "Media kills people!" He continued, "All the latest scandals, including Foxconn suicides and the kindergarten stabbings, which one of them was not caused by the media? Why do so many people leave China after they become rich? Because they cannot stand the media putting them to trial."

"Too much plotting and scheming is the cause of her undoing"

Zhang Ziyi, darling of the Chinese media but not as beloved by the Chinese people, once again stirred up controversy when news with the following title made the headlines: "Celebrities Contribute 400 million yuan to alleviate drought, Zhang Ziyi Anonymously Donates."

Zhou Xun, Huang Xiaoming, Li Bingbing and others were conspicuous in the list of donors. At the same time, an anonymous donor also attracted many looks. Like most of the stars who donated, this person gave 200,000 yuan to the southeast provinces that have been suffering from drought.

Deputy Treasurer of Red Cross China told the reporter that she noticed the anonymous gift a few days ago. Only now did she find out that the money came from Zhang Ziyi, because Red Cross recently deposited a check with Zhang's name.

If I may point out, juxtaposition of the actress's name with the word "anonymous" produces an veritable oxymoron. In a real anonymous case, nobody should know the donor's name except the donor herself. Besides, I thought organizations did not disclose details of donations without consent from the donor.

The speed with which this eulogy spread on internet was truly remarkable. The article came out immediately after donations for the drought began. Within hours of its first appearance on Xinhua, every single major news site re-posted it.

The media's present eagerness to laud Zhang contrasts sharply with its reticence just a scant weeks ago, when the Chinese public questioned the whereabouts of the 1 million USD Zhang Ziyi reportedly raised abroad in the name of 2008 Sichuan earthquake victims. The fundraising activities, which landed Zhang Ziyi several respectable charity awards in China and greatly improved her image, were later suspected to be hoaxes as the money she gathered never saw the light of the day. However, while numerous theories about what truly happened floated around, the media cooperated with Zhang Ziyi and agent to release statement after statement--each time, Zhang's story changed.

In 2008, Zhang told the media she raised 1 million USD and she was following up with the government to ensure that this money was put to good use. In February 2010, Zhang's agent claimed, in direct contradiction to her employer's previous interviews, that $400,000 was the true amount received at Cannes. In the subsequent months, this figure eventually dropped down to $1300. Just to put things into perspective, $1300 is approximately the monthly unemployment benefits for one person.

Despite of these glaring inconsistencies, the media never exerted its investigative fingers. Red Cross China distanced itself from the mess, even though Zhang Ziyi said at different times (with videos of interviews as proof) that she would be taking the money back to Red Cross. The only time the humanitarian organization talked was to inform the public that Zhang Ziyi fulfilled her donation promise; this made more people mad as the announcement obscured the Cannes deceit and misled readers. Finally, an official spoke up: It is not easy to train an internationally-renowned actress. Why don't Netizens stop focusing on all those negative news about her? Which was the Chinese way of saying, "She is too big to fail."


So, with the current "anonymous donation" debacle, I am reminded afresh about this actress and her PR team's ability to reveal the worst side of Zhang Ziyi. Let's assume Zhang merely exaggerated and did not pocket 1 million USD as some suspected. After all, that would be a monumentally stupid and amoral thing to do. If Zhang had just come straight out to say that she wrote a check for 840,000 yuan, which was still one of the biggest donations by mainland celebrities in 2008, and avoided the show she put up at Cannes, people would have respected her a lot more. If Zhang had just donated 200,000 for the drought like all the other celebrities, without trying to impress people with her "low-key" donation, no one would think the news article a further demonstration of her conniving nature.

As things stand now, Zhang Ziyi lowered herself even further in the public view. And the self-contradictory news report does not help to improve Red Cross China's sometimes shaky credibility or the reputation of Chinese charity.

Anhui Elder Dies from Starvation. Village Cadre Says: "Well, nobody told him not to have a son"

On the importance of having a son in China. The need is not as critical when one situates higher on the social ladder . Of course if it turns out the son (daughter) is unfilial, then one is still doomed.

Translation: 儿子死后，安徽一85岁老人饿死 via Sohu

In Chengzhai Village, Lixing Town of Taihe County (太和县李兴镇程寨村), a 85 year old elder starved to death inside his burned down home.

Villagers donated money to pay for the elder's burial.

No money to bury son

The name of this elder who just passed away is Cheng Baoping (程保平). Fellow villager Mr. Cheng told the reporter that on the afternoon of April 1, he and others found the old man dead in his fire-ravaged home because Cheng Baoping hadn't eaten for days. Cheng Baoping had a son, Cheng Haoshan, who would be 60 this year. In the past, father and son made a living with their their 4 mu farm (1 mu = 667 m²). Because of extreme poverty, Cheng Haoshan never married. Two years ago, a large fire destroyed their home, but the house was never rebuilt due to lack of money. Since then, Cheng Haoshan stayed in another villager's home, while Chang Baoping continued to live in the burned ruins. To keep away the rain, a plastic sheet was draped over the roofless building. Cheng Haoshan used to prepare the meals and deliver it to his father.

In January this year, Cheng Haoshan was discovered dead in his room. Mr Cheng said: "Cheng Baoping did not have any money to arrange for a burial, so the body was left unattended. Finally, the village cadres found 900 yuan on the corpse and used most of it on cremation. With nothing left to pay for burial, they put the cinerary casket in a grass shed out of the village. It sat there for more than 20 days."

Starvation

Mr Cheng said: "Children played with the cinerary casket like it was a toy. It was thrown into the river several times, until finally one kid took the casket home. The youngster's mom had no other choice but to ask people to bury it. Cheng Baoping could not take care of himself. Once his son died, the old man had to begin begging for meals. Village cadres completely ignored his plight." Another villager, surname Cheng, told the reporter that Cheng Baoping relied on aid from neighbors to survive. Without a steady income, he was constantly hungry. After his death, some villagers accused the village leadership of negligence in their duties to help. To this, village cadre Cheng Xiangan replied: "Who told him not to have a son (as in, Cheng Baoping deserved to be in the helpless circumstance)."

The reporter further interviewed Director Xu, head of the village board. When asked why village cadres did not provide assistance to income-less Cheng Baoping, Director Xu answered: "I only know he belonged to the 'five guarantees' (五保户, in China, village minors, childless elders and the sick are guaranteed food, clothing, medical care, housing and burial expenses). I am not acquainted with the details." The reporter asked Dr. Xu if the village ever provided relief to Cheng. Dr. Xu said, "Probably no." Two other villagers said that the village party secretary and the head of village board don't really do much of anything. When they have problems and need resolutions, the villagers can never find the the officials.

China's Supreme Court Second-Level Justice: I Hope Citizens Do Not File Lawsuits

The original title is "Zhang Jun (张军): I Hope Citizens Do Not Sue and Do Not Have the Courage to Sue"

The conversation below is part of a longer Q&A session. It took place during the NPC and CPPCC annual meetings.

Translation: 张军：希望老百姓尽量不要打官司 更不要敢于打官司

At 8PM on the evening of March 11, 2010, during the third session of the Eleventh National People's Congress, two NPC representatives and one director of China Supreme People's Court conducted an online exchange with Netizens. Armed with work summary reports from Supreme People's Court, the three officials answered questions concerning how judicial system may help to protect the livelihood of ordinary Chinese citizens.

[CNR.CN reporter] A CNR.CN reader would like to ask Judge Zhang Jun the following question: I inadvertently heard that the courts have a series of policies, such as fee waivers and installment plans, which aim to make filing cases easier for vulnerable groups like persons with disabilities and those enjoying five guarantees (五保户, in China, village minors, childless elders and the infirmed are guaranteed food, clothing, medical care, housing and burial expenses). However, in everyday life, we rarely see relevant information about these policies. In the future, could the courts make a greater effort to disseminate said information, so that ordinary people and vulnerable groups have more courage to file lawsuits?

[Zhang Jun] This reader is quite interesting. He "inadvertently heard." That means we are definitely doing a better job at spreading the knowledge than before. I agree with him in that the people's courts have implemented many concrete changes to make themselves more accessible to the public. Just this afternoon Court President Wang Shengjun (王胜俊) mentioned in his report the large amount of work that has been done in the area. Last year, the reduced, waived, or delayed litigation fees due to difficult life circumstances amounted to 0.76 billion, and this number increases every year. The growing financial aid reflects the concern and care Party and government have for the masses. In the future we shall enlist the help of internet and the websites here today to advertise these policies to Netizens. I hope Netizens will jump in as well and let more people "inadvertently" hear about the policies.

Separate from the topic, I have another issue to bring up. Conflicts between ordinary people and neighbors are common. If you can avoid lawsuits, do. Don't be "daring" to sue. In other words, try to eliminate trials by asking people to mediate and letting respected elders to speak on your behalf. Litigations are money consuming. They also damage relationships. As one old Chinese saying advises us, "harmony is the most precious." Going to court will certainly disrupt that harmony. If we can resolve family and neighbor problems through mediation, we will do our best to take that route. Our goal is to create a more peaceful, harmonious work, living, and study environment for the parties involved. If we order the defense to do something when he is still angry, then he won't voluntarily make reparations. At this point, the court stepping in to enforce the ruling can further intensify the conflict.

Therefore, as a judge, I sincerely wish that our people could avoid trials when problems can be settled out of courts. Less lawsuits implies a more harmonious society. Thank you.

Comments

laoxia from Yichang, Hubei
This is ridiculous. Is our society progressing or regressing?

julongshi from Hefei, Anhui
5 ingredients to a winning case: 1. reason is on your side; 2. connections (best if they are connections in the court); 3. a honest good lawyer; 4. the opposing side does not have a political background (belonging to the governing body); 5. get a good honest judge.

洞视者 from Changsha, Hunan
If someone has power and connections, then even when reason is not on his side, judge is biased and lawyer awful, he will still win!

淡定需要忍耐 from Shijiazhuang, Hebei
Actually, the judges are the most powerful. One judge once bragged, who cares what your lawyer says. I will issue the verdict however I like!

shanchunyeren from Anhui, Hefei
Do Chinese people even like lawsuits? We would not dare enter the court gate given any other choice.

Mobile Phone User
Can't believe such an unprofessional person is our representative

霊橒 from Shantou, Shandong
If this came from a philosopher, then okay, I agree that courtroom is not the best place to address problems. But as a jurist, he has stepped out of line. His job is not to discourage lawsuits but to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice.

开心果果4 from Tianjin, Hebei
Yes, you guys ideally just need to hold your teacups, read newspapers, have nice chats during your work time, and still get paid.

墨剑 from Jiangsu
His attitude is a little strange. Does he want everyone to follow the footsteps of Buddha, whose head is covered with bumps? (Note: the Netizen is implying that Buddha was beat up many times) We must endure everything!

Chines people never like courtrooms. Naturally, they don't like lawsuits either.

The usage of "dare to" is interesting. He obviously agrees that such a action requires courage. What, the courts dare not to resolve even the minor cases between common people? Why do I get the feeling his answer has some deeper meaning?

云鹄展 from Nanning, Guangxi
I don't think "harmony is the most precious" applies to all situations. Traditionally we value peace, but focusing solely on harmony will cover up the real problems [, leaving them to fester]. I believe that to the contrary, we should strive to be inharmonious. We have to be better at uncovering and addressing issues. We need to quickly correct those which can not be condoned.

吴玉楼 from Qingdao, Shandong
Comrade Zhang Jun:
Hello.
1. Grassroot political structures, such as residential committees, have been weak for many years. And since most believe in "the less troubles, the better," many conflicts between neighbors could not be nipped in the bud. This is one major reason leading to lawsuits.

2. In some cases, one must be firm when enforcing the law. How else can you administer justice when you are worried about too many things? Effective enforcement has long been an issue, and it has not improved much.

太湖雄马 from Wuxi, Jiangsu
The fundamental problem is the lack of justice!

Double2 from Ningbo Zhejiang
This leader is definitely out of touch with common people's pain.

cenming69 from Zhuhai, Guangdong
The report made me furious the first time I read it. After some re-thinking, however, I realized that our legal environment is quite realistic. Our society is not governed by legalism. Thus, it is unsurprising to see this comment: 5 ingredients to a winning case: 1. Reason is on your side; 2. Connections (best they are connections in the court); 3. Get a honest good lawyer; 4. The opposing side does not have a political background (belonging to the governing body); 5. Get a good honest judge.

But that friend failed to mention one more thing: even when you win, our legal system does not act to protect your rights. My personal experiences confirm this.

First experience. The company I worked for lost 6 million yuan in the non-ferrous metal business due to fraud. We filed for lawsuit. With the help from police in XX province, we recovered a jeep and some real estate property. Together they valued at 1 million. Then the police kept the jeep and asked for more money to compensate for their expenses. In the end, we received 0 reparation. We never filed another lawsuit after that. The ruling cannot be enforced. Each time it is enforced, we end up losing more money. I write this to show that common people have no ability to carry out the verdicts.

Second experience. I used to work in an amusement park. We lost tons of cases, but the prosecution could never get their money back. We conducted business as usual even when the bank froze our accounts. They just had to swallow the losses.

Third experience. One of my friends lived in Dongguan. She was married with kids, but because of physical abuse, she filed for divorce and custody of her child. Although she had sufficient evidence to prove abuse, Dongguan court said men will care more for their offspring, so her ex-husband was granted guardianship (he was unemployed at the time). My friend appealed the decision (she hired a lawyer from beginning to end) at Dongguan intermediate court and finally received a favorable ruling.

The problem was not ever. The man took their child back to hometown Jiangan in Sichuan (四川老家江安). Dongguan court couldn't do anything after that. My friend took the legal papers to Jiangan. But because the man had connections in Jiangan judiciary system, Jiangan lower court forcibly overturned the Dongguan ruling. (Isn't it preposterous) My friend appealed the decision in Yibin intermediate level court, and was again granted custody. Yibin also requested that Jiangan enforce the ruling. Jiangan court said it didn't have the power.

In the end, my friend spent several hundred thousand of dollars she saved up over the years, won the case, but had no way to ensure that the verdict was carried out. She even thought about hiring gangs. It has been 3 years now. She has not seen her child for three years.

These are my own experiences. Do you think it is practical to go to the courts? It is hard to win and harder to benefit when you win.

ddgaycd from Dandong, Liaoning (probably the only comment in Judge Zhang's favor)
Why can't people speak truthfully now? Truth was what the judge said. I can't comprehend the comments on this website. Do family and neighbor disputes have to be solved in court? Lawsuits waste our own resources. They also drain society's resources. Even if you win, relationships are destroyed.

Finally, to satisfy my own curiosity, I searched for statistics on court performance.

According to this 1999 book on Google Books (I am assuming that the numbers at least stayed the same if not increased with time), the number of resolved cases per judge during 1995-1996 time frame is 168 in Germany, 178 in Hungary, 1,203 in Singapore, 1,408 for Peru, 1,233 in U.S. and a whopping 4,809 in Chile.

I then looked for data on China but was only able to find the following 2009 article: for her huge population, China's national average caseload is 45 per judge per year.

5 College Students Beat Out 395 Others to Become Feces Diggers

The question now becomes: is the job worth it?

Translation: Netease 大学生当掏粪工 值不值, pictures from Sohu

College student Zhao Ting (张婷) meticulously performs her job

Meng Jia (孟佳) learns the job requirements from her mentor

5 young college graduates in Jinan, Shandong officially kicked off their career as feces diggers after they were matched up with mentors. Last October, this group of graduates passed a series of examination to become the only 5 out of 400 applicants to get the jobs. Once they were selected, the five had to complete 6 months of training. Two of the new feces diggers are CCP members, and the youngest is only 23. Their undergraduate majors ranged from computer science to law.

Many people were shocked by the discovery that to become feces diggers, college graduates must beat out numerous competitors, pass strict assessments, and undergo half year of probationary period. One Netizen sighed: "When we were young, our parents used to scare us with 'if you do not study, then you will dig feces for a living.' Sadly, now that I have finally graduated from university, I am no longer even qualified to dig feces."

Too many candidates and too few opportunities leave people with few choices, but we still must pose the question: Is it worth it for college graduates to dig feces? Is this elevated thinking or another compromise?

Those In Favor

Better than the "boomerang children"

There is nothing shameful about college graduates becoming feces diggers. As an old Chinese adage tells us, "There are 360 trades, and every trade has its master." Digging feces is more than a trade. It is also a career and a profession. No job is superior to another, and we should stop thinking that feces diggers belong to lower caste, education is useless, or that the work is undignified. We should applaud these young people for voluntarily taking up the profession. We need to respect their choices and be touched by their spirit.

Digging poop with one's own hand is merely another form of legitimate labor. While it might be ordinary and even humble, these young people were able to adjust their attitude, lower their expectations, and conquer worldly prejudices. Because they at least earn a living legally with their own labor, the five are much better than the "boomerang kids," who would rather live off parental support. These students have also demonstrated maturity and a willingness to face reality head-on. They correctly understood the division of labor in the society.

The writer believes that only people like them qualify as college graduates. Only they are the "God's favored ones." (by Liu Hong, 刘洪)

Why not feces digging since they are not competitive enough?

Becoming manure diggers is of course a personal choice, but the news still drew strange looks to the applicants. College graduates want decent jobs, and given any other choice, the five probably would not taken up the manure buckets. The fact that they ultimately made the said choice reflect only their sadness. The society has nothing to do with it.

Regardless of how little known or popular a field of study is, opportunities always abound, because the society has needs, although fierce competition is causing workplaces to impose ever higher standards on employees. If these five were experts in their fields, then manure digging would not be a typical choice for them. They dig manure because the unqualified individuals faced an impasse: they neither wanted to seek higher education, nor did they currently possess enough knowledge to qualify for a better position.

After universities increased enrollment in 1999, the number of incoming freshmen drastically increased. In addition, numerous community colleges and private colleges opened for operation (Note: In China, private institutions rank much lower than public universities). The numbers as well as the categories of students multiplied. In good or even famous universities, many graduate every year though they are far from meeting the requirements. Such students essentially wasted away undergraduate years, acquiring no technical skills or knowledge. Their worth is the same as that of high school students. The only difference lies in the four more years they threw away. (by Xiong Weiqiang, 熊伟强)

A Breakthrough in the employment deadlock

College students becoming feces diggers is a breakthrough in the employment problem. On one hand we see a dearth of manual labor; on the other hand, there are many jobless college graduates. If the young people possessed willingness to start from the bottom, a grass-root awareness, and a desire to accumulate experience first, they too can become useful. Forced to choose between face and survival, or between unemployment and room for growth, they will see that the latter is more important. Look at those gloriously successful elites, how many of them did not start from society's bottom? It is laudable that the young Shandong students climbed out of the bandwagon psychology. Their courage to become feces diggers, whether for future development or to resolve a employment problem, is a win-win choice. They are our "employment role models."

College students have continuously redefined the concept of employment, by taking jobs as blue-collared workers, janitors, and today's feces diggers. They are increasingly pragmatic and willing to settle for humble work. By actively developing themselves, they raised "step-by-step improvement" to the next level. This is praiseworthy. Unfortunately, some are still cannot make such a choice. Whenever the topic of manure digging comes up, fear of embarrassment trumps all other thoughts, so they would rather stay as boomerang kids. This type of thinking is "social infantilism." Of course, the author is not advocating that all college students dig manure, but viewing these jobs as a starting point and a kind of life experience does offer some positive value. (by Lei Hongpei 雷泓霈)

Those Against

College students losing social status

After countless discussions about whether graduates should prostitute themselves, work as babysitters, or dig feces, the once much esteemed title "college students," a term that carried many dreams and expectations, lost most of its former shine. College students as a group is fast sinking. More and more cannot contribute to their fields of study, taking up instead jobs that require little expertise or skills. Not only is this a waste of talents, it also negatively impacts self-perception, making college graduates feel "marginalized." The change that these young people went through from "pillars of the nation" to a much lower status is at once tragic and frightening. It exposes the inadequacies of higher education and an industrial structure that is not quite rational.

The "employment problem" is the focus of every NPC and CPPCC annual meeting. Two factors have made digging feces attractive: the scarcity of opportunities, and the feces digging as a very stable, good benefits paying job under government contract. 630 million more students will graduate this year, but the job market remains pessimistic. Hopefully both problems will be get the attention of people's representatives and that "protecting the career dignity of college graduates" be put on their meeting agenda as soon as possible. (by Wang Yanchun, 王艳春)

Reality and Compromise

We know labor is glorious. We know no job is superior to another. Since the only thing to differentiate you and me is the division of labor, jobs of ordinary people are fair game for college students too. It is unreasonable and an over-generalization to cry "waste of talent" based on only the starting point and the level of employment. As long as these incidents are few, we should not lightly call them a "waste."

However, when hundreds fight to become feces diggers, we need to reflect more deeply. Such a phenomenon not only implies helplessness against a tough job market but also is a soundless protest against the long-standing problems of higher education.

College students becoming feces diggers to a certain extent indicate a changing attitude, but for the most part, it is also a compromise that reveals the inadequacy of education. The teachings do not match the market's needs and in some cases are completely out of touch. Students find themselves in low-level jobs that require nothing of what they learnt in school. From this perspective, college students themselves are not the only reason in the "feces digging" phenomenon.

Massive Waste of Human Resources

We should not encourage college students to dig manure, polish shoes, or peddle on the street. That is not to say these jobs are inferior. In actuality all jobs are equal. It is not to say these positions pay less or add less value either. Some pay quite well and provide services indispensable to the society. However, it is not appropriate for college students to do these jobs, because the required skills do not match college training. The consequence of graduates doing what they have not been trained to do is grave. At the very least it is squandering away the learnings. At worst, the mentality of "education is useless" will once again gain traction.

If one must praise these college students, it is only to approve their courage. The spirit is praiseworthy but not the behavior. The phenomenon essentially results from a bad employment situation, and the students are making a suboptimal career choice. If the majority of students that the nation paid a high price to train became feces diggers and shoe polishers, then China's higher education has failed. China has failed. (by He Yong, 何勇)

We should look at "college students digging feces" with good nature

First, today's college students aren't "God's favored sons" anymore. Now possessing a bachelor degree is common phenomenon. Second, we have to rectify an old way of thinking. There is nothing wrong with college students starting out with an ordinary job. We need to abandon our colored glasses and accept it with a tolerant attitude. Take "feces diggers" for example. With the introduction of machinery, the job will not be as dirty, smelly, and labor intensive as people imagine. Much of the human work becomes supervisory in nature. There are no lowly jobs, only lowly discrimination. It is another life's challenge for college students to establish a correct concept of career. (by employee Peng Aizhen, 彭爱珍)

Bi ying ying Phases Out Plagiarism In China, Pt. 3

Readers don't care about plagiarism, and publishers are too busy making money to check for plagiarism. Making plagiarists even more gleeful is the fact that few writers who have been plagiarized choose to fight for their rights, not because they love being copied, but rather Chinese plagiarism laws are weak in many aspects, and litigations are drawn-out, resource consuming affairs.

Apathy combined materialism fertilized the Chinese soil for copy pasting. Still the root of the cause goes deeper, because the Chinese educational system teaches plagiarism.

As early as second grade when students first learn to write, children are taught to memorize any "elegant sentence and expressions" that they encounter, because the effective deployment of these sentences in their own writing will add a layer of sophistication. What the teachers intend is for children to improve writing skills through this type of borrowing or emulation. The part that many teachers fail to emphasize is the students should strive to form their own style as soon as possible and move away from the low level bi ying ying.

Teachers who participate in gaokao (college entrance exam) grading notice many essays which are amazingly similar in language, structure, and content, but compared to writings that are less coherent and organized, these lookalikes will still receive a higher score. There have been recent high quality gaokao essays that, after being published online as samples, are revealed by public scrutiny for plagiarism. The habit of copy pasting/cheating also carry far beyond high school, as the flourishing market of ghostwritten papers demonstrates.

Furthermore, as a result of the somewhat misleading education, many Chinese students equate plagiarism with allusion and citation. They also make wide allowance for materials that can be ethically copied. Under their erroneous way of thinking, historical novels, encyclopedias, news articles, movie reviews, any description that sets the mood/tone, and original stories re-posted more than 2 times on-line are considered "common facts" (or trivial enough) and may be copy pasted in any way, shape, or form.

Although the vivibear scandal has caused a backlash against simple copying, how long this correction will last is hard to say. The glorious commercial success of writers like Guo Jingming and An Yiru means that plagiarism and its next state of evolution--bi ying ying--will persist for quite a while to come.

Finally, it is humorous to note some excuses that fanatical readers come up to explain paragraphs and chapters copied verbatim. The excuses include but are not limited to victim authors traveling forward in time to copy the plagiarists, dead people coming back to life to copy the plagiarists, and synchronized brainwaves between the plagiarists and those they copy.

Sources
Tianya
Baidu forum

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Related Post(s)
Bi ying ying Phases Out Plagiarism In China, Pt. 1
Bi ying ying Phases Out Plagiarism In China, Pt. 2

Bi ying ying Phases Out Plagiarism In China, Pt. 2

What Became of the Chinese Writers Found Out for Plagiarism?

Guo, Jingming (郭敬明)

Three of Guo's five novels were accused of plagiarism. The book that won him fame in 2003, City of Fantasy, was accused of copying Japanese manga RG Veda. A later book, Meng Li Hua Luo Zhi Duo Shao (Never Flowers in Never Dreams) stole "idea, story, main plots, major characters and language" from Chinese writer Zhuang, Yu's Quan Li Quan Wai. Guo's third novel, Xia Zhi Wei Zhi, was said to have borrowed characters and dialogues from Ai Yazawa's manga Nana.

Except for Never Flowers in Never Dreams, which Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court ruled to be a work of plagiarism, the two other accusations have not been brought to court, probably because of reasons such as language barrier, different genres and nationalities. In the case of Never Flowers in Never Dreams, Guo Jingming paid Zhuang Yu 210,000 yuan but refuse to apologize as ordered.

Guo is still wildly successful after the conviction.

In 2007, Guo was inducted into the Chinese Writers' Association, a government-sponsored organization.

In 2008, Guo's new book Xiao Shi Dai (Tiny Times), rose to No. 1 on the Chinese Bestselling Novels List.

In 2009, Guo placed 68th on the Forbe's list of Chinese celebrities.

Guo Ni (aka GirlneYa, 郭妮)

Guo Ni was and might still be one of the mega-names in the young adult romance fiction business. In 2006, several news articles compared her to Guo Jingming, claiming that her novels attract more buyers than Guo Jingming.

Guo Ni has been reported to have plagiarized hundreds of Japanese mangas. Furthermore, reports of creative teams and ghostwriting abound, a claim that Guo Ni's publisher vehemently denies.

Guo Ni is still publishing.

An Yiru (安意如）

An Yiru has been dogged by charges of plagiarism ever since the publication of her first novel in 2007. Once described as "a self-reliant, handicapped, pretty female writer" and "gifted lady" by the media, An Yiru is now revealed to have plagiarized everything from her novels to blog posts. Her gifted writing was, in fact, written by other people.

Baidu encyclopedia provides detailed comparisons between the original works and An's essays. Unlike Guo Jingming and Guo Ni, who at least paraphrases or circumspectly plagiarizes across genres, An bi ying ying paragraphs without alteration, including typos and punctuation marks.

An Yiru is still publishing.

Weiwei Zhang (aka vivibear)

Vivibear started penning romance novels in 2006. She soon became the goddess of time travel books, with more than 10 titles to her name. All her stories feature ordinary young girls who travel across time or space and who are zealously pursued by famous handsome men such as Ramses II, Qin Shi Huang, Abe no Seimei, and Okita Sōji.

According to the latest tally, vivibear has copied and pasted from more than 600 novels/essays by 500 writers, which no doubt contributed hugely to the 10 books she wrote in less than 3 years. News reports of vivibear's impressive feat cast doubts on the Chinese publishing business. It appears that neither vivibear nor her book editors proofread, because her books are rife with the many typos and traditional Chinese pictogram copied directly from the original articles. Or perhaps, the editors tacitly allow plagiarism for the sake of profits.

In 2009, vivibear became known in China as the Goddes of Bi Ying Ying.

Vivibear is still publishing.

Chinese Publisher React to Plagiarism

When facing plagiarism charges, many Chinese mainland publishers choose to equivocate while they continue to publish the accused books. Occasionally, editors make statements which are both memorable and revealing.

An Yiru's Publisher

Editor Yang Wenxuan admits that An Yiru lacks cultivation when it comes to ancient Chinese, because her life experiences and education limit her. When writing about poems, she must depend on outside sources, including internet literary analysis.

"Even though An has her own style of writing, the World Wide Wide causes her indigestion, and she forgets copyright when using stuff written by other people. It just means she is a newbie, not that she copies out of evil intentions. Besides, when it comes to poem analysis, it is easy to appear to be plagiarizing"

杨文轩也承认，安意如的古诗词学养并不多，因其人生体验、知识结构等方面的限制，她在进行古诗词赏析的写作上，必须借助很多外在的东西，这包括对网络的利用。“尽管她有自己的文字风格，但互联网还是让她消化不良，对使用别人的东西的时候不太严谨，忽略了版权。”“这说明安意如涉世不深，做事确实欠周到，但并不是恶意抄袭。况且在古诗词赏析这类题材的写作上，本身就容易出现类似‘抄袭’的问题。”

Young girl magazine Princess Monthly (公主志）

There has been a recent post in our forum accusing Wei Ya's "Prince Is Marshmallow," published in the October 2008 edition of Princess Monthly, of plagiarism. All our editors are currently occupied with preparing the next issue of the magazine. We do not have time to look at the other article which "Prince is Marshmallow" supposedly plagiarized. We hereby post the entire article of "Prince is Marshmallow."

Plagiarism, whether language, structure, plot, character and others, is a serious charge to writers. If anyone wish to accuse Wei Ya, then please produce detailed evidence consistent with Chinese copyright laws and regulations. If you only have hearsay, far-fetched evidence, and make trouble for us out of malicious intent, then you shall apologize to writer Wei Ya, Princess Monthly and readers of Princess Monthly.

鉴于目前论坛内有人发帖指责薇雅的文章，刊登在2008年10月公主志上的《王子是块棉花糖》涉嫌抄袭，编辑部目前在赶制7月公主志，没有时间去看另一篇文章，故而贴出《王子是块棉花糖》刊登版全文。

所谓抄袭，包括文字抄袭、文章整体架构、情节及人物设定抄袭等等。被指抄袭对作者来说是件很严重的事情，如果指责，请放出具体的，符合国家版权相关法规规定的抄袭举证。如果只是捕风捉影，牵强附会，恶意攻击杂志或作者，蓄意闹事，请向作者薇雅、公主志论坛的读者及公主志道歉。

Few days later, one editor finally found more time to elucidate:

"Prince Is Marshmallow" was a short story published on October 2008. Even I, its editor, have already forgotten it.

"Prince is Marshmallow" is similar to "My Jelly Pudding," Moreover, one of the sentences was identical. Nevertheless, we editors do not have the right to determine whether this is plagiarism or not.

《王子是块棉花糖》是刊登于2008年10月的一篇短篇小说，说实话，身为编辑的我，基本上已经遗忘了它……
....
其次，薇雅的短篇小说《王子是块棉花糖》与网文《我家的果冻受》确有相似之处，甚至有一句完全相同。但是，编辑没有确定这就是抄袭的权力。

Shanda, who has decided to publish Goddess of Bi Ying Ying's novels (盛大)

Regarding the fact that vivibear has plagiarized, we are currently communicating with relevant departments in charge of her book. We request that you provide evidence that her new book has plagiarized. I apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may bring you.

对于此问题正在进一步和相关部门进行沟通，目前需要您提供vivibear 《花神系列》作品抄袭的证据，以便我们进行核实确认，给您带来不便敬请谅解！

Ironically, Shanda is the parent company of jjwxc.com, the literature website that became a laughingstock in the first half of 2009 because of rampant plagiarism. Even more ironically, Shanda is currently suing Baidu for not promptly removing pirated e-book sites from search results.

(To the best of my knowledge, in recent years, i. e. 2003 and on, none of the Chinese mainland publishers have taken proactive steps in these high-profile plagiarism cases.)

Readers React to Plagiarism

To learn about attitude towards plagiarism among readers in China, I posted the following survey at three websites: Douban, one net literature website, and one book forum.

1. Plagiarism is a talent.
1. 会抄也是一种能力
2. I don't care as long as the book is entertaining.
2. 不关我的事，书好看就行
3. I don't read books that are accused of plagiarism.
3. 不赞成抄袭，不看抄来的文

Of those who replied, 36 people chose 1, 16 people chose 2, and 27 people chose 3. Additionally, it appears that many cannot differentiate between imitation and plagiarism, legal allusion/referencing and illegal copying.

There were also several mind-boggling responses:

[This person chose 1] Copying is no big deal. If that person writes well, why can't I just use that?

I personally would feel honored if somebody copied me. It means I am good enough to be plagiarized.
同意，人家写的好的，抄来用用也没什么嘛
要是我写的文章有人抄，我肯定高兴死，证明我写的好撒

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Related Post(s)
Bi ying ying Phases Out Plagiarism In China, Pt. 1
Bi ying ying Phases Out Plagiarism In China, Pt. 3

Bi ying ying Phases Out Plagiarism In China, Pt. 1

Early 2009, every registered user at Chinese internet literature website jjwxc.com received a perplexing message from the site administrator. After explaining the newly revised rules on plagiarism, the letter concluded with a tirade:

　　New Rules Regarding Plagiarism (Latest revision, February 2009)
　　信件内容 抄袭处理制度（09年2月修订）

　　(...)　　

　　ps: Due to the many recent cases of plagiarism, we hereby gravely remind every writer: any description that you search and found on-line, be it about events, people, or landscape and directly inserted into your own writing, is considered plagiarism!

　　Beware when you use Baidu that anything in your search results will likewise show up when readers double-check your writings. In this latest revision, we have increased the penalties for plagiarism. Any novel deemed to have copied will be added a public shame list for all to see! In addition, the points you have [jjwxc.com has a point system that automatically generate the ranking lists] will be deducted by 30%, and the guilty novel will have its own points deducted by 60%. Cherish your reputation and guard your writing career against wrong paths.

　　A lackluster sentence with misspellings that appeared in the essay of an elementary student [here, the administrator wrote junior high instead, probably because it is less embarrassing] and subsequently copied by more than 10 novels is an utter disgrace to our website!

　　ps：鉴于最近一阶段，抄袭之事越来越多，本站不得不郑重提醒各位作者一件事：从网上搜来一些关于事物、人物、景物的描写，直接用在自己文里的行为，也叫抄袭！请慎用百度，写的人能搜出来，读的人也能搜出来，世上没有不透风的墙！这次修订的规则，加大了对抄袭的处罚力度，所有判定为抄袭的文章，都要进黑名单公示于众，并且半年内所有文章，积分减30%，抄袭文积分减60%，永不翻身。请各位作者爱惜羽毛，少走错路。一句中学生作文里的，不怎么出彩，还有错别字的话，被十多篇文章抄，简直是晋江的耻辱！
　　发信时间 2009-02-04 11:34:43

Nosy Netizens intrigued by the very last part of the letter began searching and soon found the sentence it alluded to. Amusingly, this time a third-grade elementary student led the copying avalanche. He had stolen the original sentence from an anthology of exemplary essays:

Pink peach flowers, white pear flowers, and the flamboyant, tender Begonias...all smiled (Chinese: 笑盈盈, Pinyin: xiao ying ying) and bloomed.
粉红的桃花、雪白的梨花、娇艳的海棠花……都开得笑盈盈的

--Yueli Chen

When this proud student uploaded his essay to the web, one typo was made, and xiao ying ying (笑盈盈) became bi ying ying (笔盈盈). Though similar in appearance, bi ying ying is not a valid Chinese word. Because the mediocre sentence appears to hold unfathomable attraction for so-called internet writers, the exact sentence with the same typo was discovered in at least 10 other net novels.

This came to be known in China as the "bi ying ying" incident, following closely on the footsteps of Weiwei Zhang (a.k.a vivibear) scandal, a Chinese romance novelist famous for copy-and-pasting because all of her novels are best described as collages of stuff by other people. The word bi ying ying is used nowadays to mean "unthinkingly copy," whereas plagiarism involves at least some modification of the copied material.

The bi ying ying incident has exposed one phenomenon: an alarming number of Chinese writers resort to bi ying ying to pen their novels, and the new generation of confident plagiarists does not deign to paraphrase, or remove tell-tale typos. Even more shockingly, the CEO of one Chinese publishing company estimated that more than 80% of net writers have plagiarized.

What then, one might ask, are the Chinese publishers and authorities doing to curb copying? This post takes a look at the reasons behind bi ying ying and its future in China.

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Related Post(s)
Bi ying ying Phases Out Plagiarism In China, Pt. 2
Bi ying ying Phases Out Plagiarism In China, Pt. 3

All the Trivial Matters that Happened In 2009

This wildly popular Tianya post astounded everybody because first it was not immediately deleted and later even made to the front page...

Author: 平庸老者 ("mediocre old man")

Translation:

At the end of last year, I published an essay titled "Remembering 2008" to discuss current events from the perspective of an ordinary citizen. It roused much debate. Within days, the article was removed from most websites.

This year has almost ended. Here we are counting down the last few days of 2009. I won't write "Remembering 2009," because it is too time-consuming and will inevitably be deleted. Instead, I am just going to talk about a few trivial matters that took place in 2009.
　　
January 14, 2009, the National Bureau of Statistics of China revised 2007 GDP figure to 25.731 trillion yuan, and after adjustment made according to the new currency exchange rates favoring the Chinese yuan, the Bureau presumptuously placed China as the world's third largest economy. Once again, the leaders have shown the overwhelming desire to prove their self-worth with the rapid growth of GDP. Their relentless pursuit of GDP calls to mind the need addicts have for heroin¹. They revel in every minute of hallucinations and pleasures GDP rankings bring, always expecting Chinese people and the world to likewise be intoxicated and tempted.
　　
However we know very well our average GDP per person ranks at 106th: the [meager] 3315 U.S. dollars lags far behind 11806 USD of reformed Russia, 17040 USD of our relative Taiwan, 19504 USD of Korea, 30755 USD of Hong Kong, 38559 USD of Japan, and 38972 USD of Singapore. Our rulers should feel ashamed, because we ranked 78th in 1960, 82nd in 1970, 105th in 1990, and 106th in 2008. The trend does not go up. It actually is coming down.
　　
Importantly, our GPD growth comes at the sacrifice of energy resources and the environment; such despicable actions rob our children of their food. More importantly, most of the growth is derived from real-estate related businesses. The so-called virgin lands under development are in reality places people's survival depends on. Land developers, in collusion with local governments, invaded what should have been off-limits personal dwellings and farmlands, forcefully buying the lands with very little cost and selling the expensive newly built houses to riches such as coal mine owners. Forty percent of these ill-gotten gains fill the pockets of both the governments and their employees. Most importantly, the revenue that came with GDP growth, how much of it was used to improve citizen lives, and how much of it ended up fattening the powerful? While China marches forward, its people go backward. While China becomes rich, its people are impoverished. The government competes with the Chinese people for profits.

In 2009, quite a number of small and medium businesses filed for bankruptcy. Countless employees were laid off. While the number of breadwinners noticeably decreases, prices soars. Not only does housing cost an arm and a leg, even Napa cabbage in Beijing sells for 1.60 yuan per kg. Hearings to determine water and natural gas prices are like spring cats in heat, creating one trouble after another. They claim to be hearings, but nobody knows who voted for the representatives that represent the people. The representatives have both the traits of the prostitutes and the pimps and are utterly revolting. It appears from the way these go about problems that they are all possessed by the devils.
　　
In 2009, Chinese people used trillions of hard-earned money to bail Americans out of the crisis of U.S.'s own making. This was one grand gesture of internationalism Leifengism to ensure Americans live in contentment.
　　
In 2009, 21 year old Hubei female Yujiao Deng (邓玉娇) was pressured for sexual favor. Her adamant refusal--stabbing the official four times--landed her in a lawsuit that claimed her guilty. Across China, many more women voluntarily bed the powerful. Not only do they feel no shame whatsoever, the ladies scream loud enough to let everyone know they enjoy it.
　　
In 2009, one National Day Parade directly and indirectly gobbled up huge amount of taxpayer money. The government refused to divulge the spending records despite of widespread demand. Our National Day is nothing but a day of celebration for a party that assumed power through violence and then promptly began authoritarianism. It has little to do with national identity. After 60 years of governance, the government has only poor people, corrupted officials, despotism and ineffectiveness to its name--surely nothing to brag about. Repentance and self-introspection would be more fitting. So many economically advanced countries do not hold National Day celebration and parade, whereas a country whose individual GDP ranking does not even cut the first hundred pours staggering amount of taxpayer money to celebrate its rule in flamboyance. This inappropriate behavior borders on mental disorder.

Historically the Chinese civilization has had few true national celebrations. They are in reality proofs that the rulers are not at all concerned about their political achievements; even the government that ended ancient feudalism was no exception. The founding of the republic merely involves killing and acquiring power, thereby realizing One Party dominance. In a democracy, this transfer of power can be easily accomplished by an election.

In 2009, the Ministry of Finance issued the "The notice on enhancing the employees' welfare and financial management of enterprises." All transportation, housing, communication bonuses must be reported as part of the employee's salary, whereas previously they were lumped into the "Employee Benefit" category. This means that, once the benefits are considered as wages, employees will have to pay more personal income tax, increasing the burden on the employer as well as the employee.

At the same time, the Ministry of Finance averts their eyes from the 900 billion yuan of spent public funds, even renaming this expenditure as "Public Funds Meal Money." It is obviously unconcerned about the officials spending 900 billion yuan for personal reasons. I wonder: should this spending count as salaries? should public servants pay income tax on this 900 billion too? While demanding more income tax from ordinary people, the Ministry of Finance continuously excuses those who appropriate public funds for inappropriate reasons. People's welfare vs. officials' gastronomic pleasures...which concerns MOF more?
　　
In 2009, Chinese workers got their spotlight for the second time, not in China but in the U.S. The latest Time publication named the Chinese worker as its person of the Year 2009 runner-up. In contrast, the only Chinese people to receive attention in China for the past 30 years are--besides politicians, elites, rich entrepreneurs, hello kitty, Olympic winners, super girls--Benshan Zhao [he was in the media many times last year because of an heart attack] and shemale Xiaoshenyang. The people who generate the bulk of Chinese wealth such as workers and farmers have never received the respect and the deserved treatment from their government.

This discrimination has led to one phenomenon: people sending their offspring to college regardless of cost and means just so the children can be white-collar workers. In addition to a proliferation of exam-oriented education and a waste of educational resources to create useless graduates, this phenomenon also caused a severe shortage of skilled technology workers and technicians in China. Among the "Made in China"s that China provide to industrially advanced countries at the expense of natural resources and environment, there are countless low tech, low quality products. As these products are picked up by foreigners at cheap cost, they won Chinese manufacturers and managers disparagement and ridicule. Thus, the 8% GDP growth rate is maintained by the humble selves of those Chinese workers, who serve the Americans and even citizens around globe, who are viewed as worthless by the Chinese government, who are hit the hardest by the economic crisis, and who are always hovering around the poverty line.
　　
January 8, 2009, in the campaign against vulgar sites led by the Ministry of Culture (文化部), the State Administration of Radio Film and Television (广电总局), the General Administration of Press and Publication (新闻出版总署) and others, Bulloger.com became firewalled without any fanfare. Since then, I have lost another place where I can chat with Internet friends.
　　
In 2009, on Sina alone, 38 of my posts were removed. The government caged our thoughts and our self-expression, while it lectured and scolded from the outside.
　　
On February 9, 2009, CCTV's male genital was burned down, making its castrated eunuch image even more vivid. I think a fire on its female genital would draw as much sympathy from the public. After all, no one wants to look at a creature covered with boils and sores.
　　
From November 15 to 18, 2009, U.S. President Obama visited China. While here, he accepted an interview request from Southern Weekly (http://www.infzm.com) but avoided mainstream media, a sure sign of distaste for state media's cutting and editing abilities.
　　
In 2009, the Internet has become another channel by which the public receive and transmit information. Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in its 2010 Blue Book (2010年中国社会形势分析与预测) pointed out, Internet has become an independent source for news and public opinions. On the other hand, the despicable CCTV, after 60 years of monopoly on news reporting and public opinion, is being ignored and scoffed at. The angry CCTV launched an attack on the World Wide Web. On December 20th, CCAV published "Internet Triad in Control of Public Opinion: Five Million yuan Bribe Can Influence Court Decision (网络黑社会操控舆论：花五万元可左右法院判决)" on Ifeng.com. The shameless castrated eunuch media dares to accuse another of news manipulation, CCTV has really stopped thinking about its words in the haste to lay accusations.
　　
In 2009, China as a responsible nation extended more than 10 billion debt relief to Asian, African and South American countries, while preparing to increase limits of loans to Africa. Bluntly speaking, this is just an [worthless] attempt to persuade all these fence-sitting countries from establishing diplomatic ties with Taiwan and to avoid being criticized by human rights organizations.
　　
Throughout 2009, cases of forceful eviction and demolition constantly pop up, from "unintentionally striking the tenants" to "violent self-immolation in resistance to the law," the evictors and the evictees are still entangled in this deadly game.
　　
In 2009, a realistic TV series called Dwelling Narrowness did not finish airing before being banned. It is difficult to fathom which government nerve it struck, because the series has already made substantial revisions on the original story.
　　
In 2009, the person who lost his job over Sanlu diary scandal Changjiang Li received another job--leading the national task force to rid China of pornography and illegal publications. The cream always rises to the top, and the party will never forget a good man.

In 2009, farmers are still not at liberty to make love to their wives. A slightly awkward reality.

In 2009, the most effortless event was the 11th National Games held in Shandong from October 16 to October 23. Why do I say it is the most effortless? Because prior to the open ceremony, 1/3 gold medals had already been assigned, and most of the winners predetermined. The athletes didn't have to compete. In response to this news, vice president of General Administration of Sports of China said: "We have always been doing sports the Chinese way. Whereas Olympics and Asian Games must be held in a limited time frame, and most matches are held in a fixed city during a fixed time period, in China, our games have unique Chinese characteristics."
　　
Have the indifferent rulers become more or less concerned with general population's welfare in 2009? Is the censorship more relaxed or strict? I will say no more. The answer is quite obvious after a comparison with "Remembering 2008."
　　
One last word, this post with just me will be too lonely. Please, friends, speak up. Talk about the trivial matters you saw. And in this game, we bid goodbye to the old and welcome in the new year.

^1. I don't know whether it is intentional, but here the writer used the word "they" intended for animals/objects and not people