Translation:September 20 was not a good day for Hubei building contractor Zhenxing Hu (胡振兴). He originally planned to go to Beijing and collect debts, but a call from the debtor Pengrui Wang (王鹏瑞), president of Zhong Lian Law Academy (中联司法学院), delayed the meeting until after National Day.
Zhenxing Hu did contracting work for Zhong Lian Law Academy three years ago, when it using another name, and to this date, principal Wang still owes him 1.8 million yuan.
Zhenxing Hu is not alone. One year into the police training program and 90,000 yuan less, Hunan student Liyang Tian (田礼杨) finally realized that the school is nothing but a scam. Once he withdrew from the institute, Tian dedicated most of the time to getting his money back. Many others like Liyang Tian are also clamoring for a tuition refund.
In September, Oriental Outlook reporter twice anonymously visited the school. He discovered to his surprise that in its short history, the school has changed its name more than 20 times. What's more, the school principal has more than 100 governmental "titles."
Especially puzzling is the fact that despite of not being on any official roster of accredited schools and businesses, this institution has been operating for nearly four years with no interference from the Chinese government.
School Construction
Zhenxing Hu and Hubei labor contractors Shuiru Liu and Aiming Liu (刘水如,刘爱明) first met Pengrui Wang in May of 2006. Wang wanted to open a Law Academy in Beijing Fangshan District (北京房山区青龙湖镇水峪村). After negotiation, Shuiru Liu and Aiming Liu decided to build the classrooms, whereas Zhenxing Hu was in charge of the president's house, school cafeteria, and student dormitories.
From the first day, Wang requested that all buildings be single-storied. It was only until later that Aiming Liu understood why: Wang wanted to avoid the government, and in China any building having more one floor must be reported to the authorities.
Aiming Liu began the construction project in June of 2006. According to their contract, Wang must pay every month based on work progress. But when the first month came to an end, Wang told the contractors that he was temporarily out of cash. He promised to pay once students come in. "This year the enrollment number will be 2000, and each student must pay 60,000 yuan," he reassured them.
Not only did Liu not suspect Wang, he even used 430,000 of his own money to cover the construction costs. Unfortunately, when the fourth month rolled along and it was the time to pay, Wang told him that the student enrollment was too low, asking Liu to halt the project until enough funds arrive.
Wang began to avoid Liu and others. "Every time I called him," Liu recalled, "He was either in some important convention in the Great Hall of People or out of town on a business trip." Desperate, Liu began to stalk Wang. After waiting outside Wang's office for a full day, he was finally given 10,000 yuan and 300,000 dollars of some unknown foreign currency.
"When I went to the bank to exchange this money, the staff told me all that foreign currency is worth little more than 10 yuan." Liu was fooled yet again. "In all three years, I was only able to get back 50,000 yuan."
When Liu attempted to use legal means, he found out with great dismay that the school is not on any official record. Furthermore, Pengrui Wang is not even a real name.
According to Liu, Wang scammed more than 10 contractors in the same way. The largest victim of them all was Zhenxing Hu, who lost almost 1.8 million yuan.
On September 22, the reporter confronted Wang with this accusation, to which he replied: "I only owe two people money. And I already paid around 500,000 yuan to Hu."
Zhenxing Hu vehemently denied this. He told the reporter that even after four trips to Beijing he hadn't collected a single dime.
Recruitment
An unfinished campus did not deter Wang's recruitment plans.
In July 2007, Liyang Tian learned from his friend in Beijing that Wang's school was looking for new students. Having just failed the college entrance exam, this news gave Tian hope, because the school promised him a police job upon graduation. His childhood dream was to become a police. The gullible Tian paid 80,000 yuan in tuition and an additional 10,000 yuan to the person who recommended him to this school.
"There were more than 300 students in the beginning." As the time went by, however, the number of students dwindled. There were people dropping out every day, sometimes hundreds at once.
Wang never tried to keep these students. After all they paid the tuition up front. Wang simply chose not to refund them when they leave.
Before Tian quit, Wang had already contacted his mother and procured the tuition for next year. None of that money is returned.
Beijing Student Zhong Wang (not real name) also enrolled in the academy. He only stayed for five days, because the school looked too unprofessional. He had paid 10,000 yuan, but only 9,000 was refunded.
Hao Xue (not real name) was yet another student at this school. He matriculated this August, and after being there for two months, he still could not remember which was the school's real name. "You see, my dad arranged for me to be here."
It was said that Wang capitalizes on parental ignorance to lure students in. Most of the pupils are from remote areas of Sichuan, Henan, or the Northeast region, with very poor academic performance. "The students are deeply convinced that they can buy diplomas and police careers with money," said former employee Jianguo Hu (胡建国).
Wang's favorite recruiting strategies include mailing acceptance letters to students, advertising on newspapers, and paying others to recruit for him.
Campus
On September 4 and September 7, the reporter visited the law academy under the pretext of interest in the school programs.
The 20 some school name signs have already been taken down. The current names are "Zhong Lian Law Academy" and "Security Police Training Center." Several men in camouflaged uniforms guard the entrance, and they use walkie-talkies to consult with school authorities before letting any outsider in.
The campus is dotted by unfinished buildings and stinky latrines. On one of the hills, the reporter even saw several life-sized sculptures of Chinese national leaders.
Slogans and photos of high-ranking officers decorate both sides of the walkway, though some of the names are misspelled. There are also a road made of concrete and a pond fill with mud. These have been advertised respectively as airport and swimming pool.
Construction of the president's house has already been completed. It is officially named Jade Mansion because the front hall is filled with jade artworks. "I have six, seven tons of them, in addition to famous paintings and calligraphy. They are worth trillions," Wang bragged.
According to Jianguo Hu, one of Wang's longtime acquiantance, most of the jades are fake, used to awe the ignorant.
The school's "Admissions Officer" Hongmo Guo (郭红谟) told the reporter that there are two different kinds of diplomas awarded by the school, "special police" and "division police". To become a division police, students who are previously junior high level must pay 85,000 yuan and those who were previously high school level need to pay 58,500 annually. "Special police" is even more expensive, requiring an additional one-time fee of 180,000 yuan.
Hao Xue had just enrolled in the "special police" program and paid the exorbitant fee. "Wang said they keep 50,000 for themselves. The rest goes to people up there." As for who are the people "up there", Xue didn't know.
The school is quite profitable, recruiting around 700 students each year.
Bribe Money
Wang's academy promises employment upon graduation. But according to people who are privy to inside information, Wang usually arranges for these positions by telling police departments that he can provide labor and man power free of charge. Then half a year later, he tells the students that the police departments are dissatisfied with their work and fires them.
Wang candidly admits to the reporter that his school is not accredited, and the diplmas are all bought. "But if you had to take the exams, would you pass? Only I can find these jobs for you because I have ways and connections. Why do you think I ask for 180,000 yuan up front? That's bribe money. I use it to procure jobs for you!"
Minister Wang, and his 199 other titles
The school has assumed more than 20 names in the past. Even the people who used to work for Wang cannot keep track. "Many of them have actually been legally registered, but all the paperworks were done in Hong Kong. Because registration in HK is easy and cheap. Of course most of them expire after one year. Wang continues to use them."
Inquiries to various ministries and boards of education indicates that the school is not properly registered and is illegal.
Even more amazingly, Wang lays claims to numerous titles and positions. Of the three business cards the reporter got from him, one shows 27 positions, another shows 30, and the last 22. Wang bragged that he has more than 200 titles, and the most well known among them is "Minister Wang." In fact, this was how he introduced himself to the reporter when the two first met.
On the walls of the president's house are various enlarged photos showing Wang shaking hands with Chinese leaders (below), one of whom appears to be the former Chinese president Zemin Jiang.
But after contacting various goverment officers, reporter discovered that Wang invented most of his titles. His personal data are full of holes. For example, one of the organizations he presides over is supposed to be established under the permission of People's Goverment of PRC Hong Kong (there is no such thing).
Wang's personal website claims that he was the Chinese ambassador to "Makistan", "Bitter Mellon Ri Lanka", and "Malidives".
Management
For Liyang Tian, messy management at school also contributed to painful memories.
Male and female students intermingle without regard to gender. The buildings sprawl across the hills.
Zhong Wang who had been there only five days only liked the uniforms, but even they were cheap, costing 100 yuan per suit.
The Academy focuses most of its curriculum on military training, involving boxing and drills. The instructors, who all sport body tattoos and look like gangsters, treat students harshly. Corporal punishment is frequent.
The school strictly limits contact behind the students and the outside world. When the reporter tried to ask students questions during his visit, a teacher came by and coldly asked the him to leave.
As for cultural classes, the performance appraisal form shows "Pilot Training", "Japanese", "Russian", etc. President Wang claims that students even have to learn about hot air balloons. The teachning body is the most respectable, consisting of professors from other universities who come to the school to teach.
However, while Tian was there, he never saw a single professor. Most of the lecturers are former graduates from school, and their preferred teaching method is reading directly from the textbooks.
According to former employee Hu, one of the deans actually belongs to the first batch of graduates. After graduation, he followed Principal Wang loyally. At first he was just a director. Now he is dean, making 70,000 yuan per year.
Many of these teachers have been implicated in rape crimes.
As Tian recalled, there was a case last year in which the teacher slept with a female student. After the whole school found out, Princial Wang fired the man in front of the entire student body.
Hu also remember a young music teacher who was raped. She had to leave China for Japan after that.
When rapes happen, the young students usually dare not speak out. And President Wang's way of dealing with these incidents is "Threaten, pay money, and ask them to leave."
Goverment Officers Defend the Con Man
Reporter contacted the police department whose jurisdiction includes Wang's clearly illegal academy. One police employee mentioned that they have received many complaints, but because there are three sets of schedules being followed at the police station, he is not certain "which group is in charge" of this case.
And while the reporter was conducting this investigation, Bin Wei (魏滨), vice president of China Wisdom Engineering Association (中国智慧工程研究会), and Taiping Chen (陈太平), head secretary of China Public Works for the Five Old (中国五老公益工程组委会), phoned in separately. They all praised Wang profusely, saying he is a "philanthropist" and "did a lot of good works for the society." Of course, he has some thick nerves and tend to get carried away...for instance, the many business cards and positions he printed.
According to former employee Hu, these two organizations are just two of the hundreds that Wang is affiliated with. These positions and titles come by after payment of bribe money and/or other favors performed.
As late as today, Wang's school is still operating and actively recruiting. The reporters has met many a prospective students during his school visits.
However, reporter was told that the Beijing Ministry of Education has taken notice of school and is currently looking into the issue.
Zhenxing Hu did contracting work for Zhong Lian Law Academy three years ago, when it using another name, and to this date, principal Wang still owes him 1.8 million yuan.
Zhenxing Hu is not alone. One year into the police training program and 90,000 yuan less, Hunan student Liyang Tian (田礼杨) finally realized that the school is nothing but a scam. Once he withdrew from the institute, Tian dedicated most of the time to getting his money back. Many others like Liyang Tian are also clamoring for a tuition refund.
In September, Oriental Outlook reporter twice anonymously visited the school. He discovered to his surprise that in its short history, the school has changed its name more than 20 times. What's more, the school principal has more than 100 governmental "titles."
Especially puzzling is the fact that despite of not being on any official roster of accredited schools and businesses, this institution has been operating for nearly four years with no interference from the Chinese government.
School Construction
Zhenxing Hu and Hubei labor contractors Shuiru Liu and Aiming Liu (刘水如,刘爱明) first met Pengrui Wang in May of 2006. Wang wanted to open a Law Academy in Beijing Fangshan District (北京房山区青龙湖镇水峪村). After negotiation, Shuiru Liu and Aiming Liu decided to build the classrooms, whereas Zhenxing Hu was in charge of the president's house, school cafeteria, and student dormitories.
From the first day, Wang requested that all buildings be single-storied. It was only until later that Aiming Liu understood why: Wang wanted to avoid the government, and in China any building having more one floor must be reported to the authorities.
Aiming Liu began the construction project in June of 2006. According to their contract, Wang must pay every month based on work progress. But when the first month came to an end, Wang told the contractors that he was temporarily out of cash. He promised to pay once students come in. "This year the enrollment number will be 2000, and each student must pay 60,000 yuan," he reassured them.
Not only did Liu not suspect Wang, he even used 430,000 of his own money to cover the construction costs. Unfortunately, when the fourth month rolled along and it was the time to pay, Wang told him that the student enrollment was too low, asking Liu to halt the project until enough funds arrive.
Wang began to avoid Liu and others. "Every time I called him," Liu recalled, "He was either in some important convention in the Great Hall of People or out of town on a business trip." Desperate, Liu began to stalk Wang. After waiting outside Wang's office for a full day, he was finally given 10,000 yuan and 300,000 dollars of some unknown foreign currency.
"When I went to the bank to exchange this money, the staff told me all that foreign currency is worth little more than 10 yuan." Liu was fooled yet again. "In all three years, I was only able to get back 50,000 yuan."
When Liu attempted to use legal means, he found out with great dismay that the school is not on any official record. Furthermore, Pengrui Wang is not even a real name.
According to Liu, Wang scammed more than 10 contractors in the same way. The largest victim of them all was Zhenxing Hu, who lost almost 1.8 million yuan.
On September 22, the reporter confronted Wang with this accusation, to which he replied: "I only owe two people money. And I already paid around 500,000 yuan to Hu."
Zhenxing Hu vehemently denied this. He told the reporter that even after four trips to Beijing he hadn't collected a single dime.
Recruitment
An unfinished campus did not deter Wang's recruitment plans.
In July 2007, Liyang Tian learned from his friend in Beijing that Wang's school was looking for new students. Having just failed the college entrance exam, this news gave Tian hope, because the school promised him a police job upon graduation. His childhood dream was to become a police. The gullible Tian paid 80,000 yuan in tuition and an additional 10,000 yuan to the person who recommended him to this school.
"There were more than 300 students in the beginning." As the time went by, however, the number of students dwindled. There were people dropping out every day, sometimes hundreds at once.
Wang never tried to keep these students. After all they paid the tuition up front. Wang simply chose not to refund them when they leave.
Before Tian quit, Wang had already contacted his mother and procured the tuition for next year. None of that money is returned.
Beijing Student Zhong Wang (not real name) also enrolled in the academy. He only stayed for five days, because the school looked too unprofessional. He had paid 10,000 yuan, but only 9,000 was refunded.
Hao Xue (not real name) was yet another student at this school. He matriculated this August, and after being there for two months, he still could not remember which was the school's real name. "You see, my dad arranged for me to be here."
It was said that Wang capitalizes on parental ignorance to lure students in. Most of the pupils are from remote areas of Sichuan, Henan, or the Northeast region, with very poor academic performance. "The students are deeply convinced that they can buy diplomas and police careers with money," said former employee Jianguo Hu (胡建国).
Wang's favorite recruiting strategies include mailing acceptance letters to students, advertising on newspapers, and paying others to recruit for him.
Campus
On September 4 and September 7, the reporter visited the law academy under the pretext of interest in the school programs.
The 20 some school name signs have already been taken down. The current names are "Zhong Lian Law Academy" and "Security Police Training Center." Several men in camouflaged uniforms guard the entrance, and they use walkie-talkies to consult with school authorities before letting any outsider in.
The campus is dotted by unfinished buildings and stinky latrines. On one of the hills, the reporter even saw several life-sized sculptures of Chinese national leaders.
Slogans and photos of high-ranking officers decorate both sides of the walkway, though some of the names are misspelled. There are also a road made of concrete and a pond fill with mud. These have been advertised respectively as airport and swimming pool.
Construction of the president's house has already been completed. It is officially named Jade Mansion because the front hall is filled with jade artworks. "I have six, seven tons of them, in addition to famous paintings and calligraphy. They are worth trillions," Wang bragged.
According to Jianguo Hu, one of Wang's longtime acquiantance, most of the jades are fake, used to awe the ignorant.
The school's "Admissions Officer" Hongmo Guo (郭红谟) told the reporter that there are two different kinds of diplomas awarded by the school, "special police" and "division police". To become a division police, students who are previously junior high level must pay 85,000 yuan and those who were previously high school level need to pay 58,500 annually. "Special police" is even more expensive, requiring an additional one-time fee of 180,000 yuan.
Hao Xue had just enrolled in the "special police" program and paid the exorbitant fee. "Wang said they keep 50,000 for themselves. The rest goes to people up there." As for who are the people "up there", Xue didn't know.
The school is quite profitable, recruiting around 700 students each year.
Bribe Money
Wang's academy promises employment upon graduation. But according to people who are privy to inside information, Wang usually arranges for these positions by telling police departments that he can provide labor and man power free of charge. Then half a year later, he tells the students that the police departments are dissatisfied with their work and fires them.
Wang candidly admits to the reporter that his school is not accredited, and the diplmas are all bought. "But if you had to take the exams, would you pass? Only I can find these jobs for you because I have ways and connections. Why do you think I ask for 180,000 yuan up front? That's bribe money. I use it to procure jobs for you!"
Minister Wang, and his 199 other titles
The school has assumed more than 20 names in the past. Even the people who used to work for Wang cannot keep track. "Many of them have actually been legally registered, but all the paperworks were done in Hong Kong. Because registration in HK is easy and cheap. Of course most of them expire after one year. Wang continues to use them."
Inquiries to various ministries and boards of education indicates that the school is not properly registered and is illegal.
Even more amazingly, Wang lays claims to numerous titles and positions. Of the three business cards the reporter got from him, one shows 27 positions, another shows 30, and the last 22. Wang bragged that he has more than 200 titles, and the most well known among them is "Minister Wang." In fact, this was how he introduced himself to the reporter when the two first met.
On the walls of the president's house are various enlarged photos showing Wang shaking hands with Chinese leaders (below), one of whom appears to be the former Chinese president Zemin Jiang.
But after contacting various goverment officers, reporter discovered that Wang invented most of his titles. His personal data are full of holes. For example, one of the organizations he presides over is supposed to be established under the permission of People's Goverment of PRC Hong Kong (there is no such thing).
Wang's personal website claims that he was the Chinese ambassador to "Makistan", "Bitter Mellon Ri Lanka", and "Malidives".
Management
For Liyang Tian, messy management at school also contributed to painful memories.
Male and female students intermingle without regard to gender. The buildings sprawl across the hills.
Zhong Wang who had been there only five days only liked the uniforms, but even they were cheap, costing 100 yuan per suit.
The Academy focuses most of its curriculum on military training, involving boxing and drills. The instructors, who all sport body tattoos and look like gangsters, treat students harshly. Corporal punishment is frequent.
The school strictly limits contact behind the students and the outside world. When the reporter tried to ask students questions during his visit, a teacher came by and coldly asked the him to leave.
As for cultural classes, the performance appraisal form shows "Pilot Training", "Japanese", "Russian", etc. President Wang claims that students even have to learn about hot air balloons. The teachning body is the most respectable, consisting of professors from other universities who come to the school to teach.
However, while Tian was there, he never saw a single professor. Most of the lecturers are former graduates from school, and their preferred teaching method is reading directly from the textbooks.
According to former employee Hu, one of the deans actually belongs to the first batch of graduates. After graduation, he followed Principal Wang loyally. At first he was just a director. Now he is dean, making 70,000 yuan per year.
Many of these teachers have been implicated in rape crimes.
As Tian recalled, there was a case last year in which the teacher slept with a female student. After the whole school found out, Princial Wang fired the man in front of the entire student body.
Hu also remember a young music teacher who was raped. She had to leave China for Japan after that.
When rapes happen, the young students usually dare not speak out. And President Wang's way of dealing with these incidents is "Threaten, pay money, and ask them to leave."
Goverment Officers Defend the Con Man
Reporter contacted the police department whose jurisdiction includes Wang's clearly illegal academy. One police employee mentioned that they have received many complaints, but because there are three sets of schedules being followed at the police station, he is not certain "which group is in charge" of this case.
And while the reporter was conducting this investigation, Bin Wei (魏滨), vice president of China Wisdom Engineering Association (中国智慧工程研究会), and Taiping Chen (陈太平), head secretary of China Public Works for the Five Old (中国五老公益工程组委会), phoned in separately. They all praised Wang profusely, saying he is a "philanthropist" and "did a lot of good works for the society." Of course, he has some thick nerves and tend to get carried away...for instance, the many business cards and positions he printed.
According to former employee Hu, these two organizations are just two of the hundreds that Wang is affiliated with. These positions and titles come by after payment of bribe money and/or other favors performed.
As late as today, Wang's school is still operating and actively recruiting. The reporters has met many a prospective students during his school visits.
However, reporter was told that the Beijing Ministry of Education has taken notice of school and is currently looking into the issue.
Photos of Wang shaking hands with many "illustrious" personages....
http://news.sina.com.cn/o/2009-10-14/055516433374s.shtml (News)
http://think.szonline.net/Channel/content/2009/200910/20091013/190000_2.html (News)
http://www.wangpengrui.cn/htm/12-03.htm (Wang's personal website)
Posts
Wow, what a story! Great pick and fantastic translation, keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteHaha, yes, the man is something. I just visited his personal website--the school names changed yet again!
ReplyDeleteNow a days there is also a option for buy online degree.
ReplyDeleteI just want to emphasize the good work on this , has excellent views and a clear vision of what you are looking for buy diplomas
ReplyDelete@wasik
ReplyDeleteHemmm....is this a spam?