The Chinese George Costanza

EastSoutWestNorthis a blog I follow that tracks Chinese internet phenomenon. One story they covered a couple weeks ago was the story of a teacher that abandoned his class and ran away on his own when the earthquake hit. They had early covered his interview on Phoenix TV.

Here’s the quick version of how it went down:

The teacher who fled first, Fan Meizhong, was given the nickname "Runner Fan" which became famous all over the Internet. Everybody is aware of how much he has been cursed out on the Internet. But when he made an appearance on a Phoenix TV program, a friend asked on his behalf, "Is it wrong to be frank?" and suddenly he got the sympathy of certain members of the public. Then the Ministry of Education tried to please the public by rescinding Fan Meizhong’s teaching license. As a result, Fan Meizhong got even more public support because his freedom of speech was violated. This simple Internet incident had many twists and turns, and became a public debate over social values.

A couple choice quotes from the man himself:

When his pupils began to arrive, they asked: "Teacher, why didn’t you bring us out?"

His explanation was simple. "I have a very strong sense of self-preservation," he said. "I have never been a brave man and I’m only really concerned about myself."

...

Zilu Houren 2008-5-22 12:16:16 -- For your own sake and for the sake of others, please change jobs. You are not suitable to be a teacher.

Fan Meizhong 2008-5-22 12:20:46 -- Zilu Houren, you are obviously a brave person. The historical Zilu was beaten into a pulp for his bravery. So why haven’t you become a martyr yet with your own bravery. I think you should kill yourself.

...

Fan Meizhong: 2008 5-22 12:29:14 -- I ought to sacrifice my life so that you can be moved to tears.

I don’t actually have a real point here, I just find this interesting. I’m curious how this story would have gone down differently in America. From what I’ve read, the Chinese internet community is a bit more willing to turn into a lynch mob, sometimes literally, but at the same time there’s more skepticism about calls for self-sacrifice. The government has a long cynical history of demanding terrible sacrifices from their people and some of the more recent campaigns haven’t been so successful.