Self-denigration offers little help to improve the nation

(Global Times) 10:23, February 04, 2015

The trial of two Chinese students over an alleged assault in a karaoke bar in Michigan, US,has got Chinese Net users hot under the collar yet again.

The two accused, one a graduate and the other an undergrad at Michigan State University(MSU), stood trial last week on charges of assaulting another Chinese MSU student onJanuary 31, 2014. They admitted they were affiliated with an on-campus group known asthe Chengguan, made up of Chinese students. Prosecutors painted the group as a gang thatintimidates other students, a charge denied by the defendants, who said it was just a crowdof friends who hung out together. Members of the Chengguanhad stickers resemblingpolice badges affixed to their cars.

The name they chose for their group, however, does carry a certain connotation in Chinaafter a series of negative reports about the behavior of chengguan, or urban managementofficers, who are responsible for keeping order in city streets.

The trial has barely raised attention outside the local community as a student gang is notunusual on a large campus. However the news caused much more repercussions among theChinese public when the news was spread on China's social media.

The majority of the tens of thousands of online comments on Chinese social mediaregarding the incident are tinged with sarcasm and shame as the gang's name has toucheda nerve.

The two Chinese and their cohorts apparently have no rational thinking about thechengguan and used the name intending it to be an awe-inspiring label for their group.Chinese netizens mocked the gang's name, joking that the chengguan had finally beenexported to scourge the US.

A small group of wild Chinese students has been taken as another embarrassing example ofexporting China's bad culture abroad. But is it really that serious?

It has become a habit of Chinese netizens to adopt a sarcastic and negative tone on China-related incidents happened outside the country. With wide access to information fromevery corner in the world, Chinese people have displayed complicated affections towardtheir own country in comparison with others.

Some of them bemoan their own misfortune of being unable to join the emigration trendthat averaged 190,000 annually in recent years to enjoy quality education and fresh air.But when overseas Chinese are faced with difficulties, such as the deadly riots againstChinese in Vietnam in May last year, many then question why China didn't have enoughinfluence to protect these compatriots.

As a developing country undergoing a fast transition, China undeniably has many problemsto address and large room for improvement. But denigrating ourselves won't do any good.

(For the latest China news, Please follow People's Daily on Twitter and Facebook)(Editor:Gao Yinan,Yao Chun)

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