A Stolen Life: The tragedies of low-class students in China | Gaokao

Under China’s current social structure, it is difficult for people from the lower class to enter the upper class of society. For most children from the lower class, going to college is the most important way to change their destiny. China’s college entrance exam system, on the surface, uses test scores to determine whether or not a student qualifies for college. However, this seemingly fair system is fraught with uncertainty for the less powerful, especially children from rural areas, due to corruption in admissions and impersonation by the privileged class. Chen ChunXiu , a woman from a farming family in Shandong, China, took the college entrance exam 16 years ago, but did not receive a letter of admission from any school. After making inquiries, she learned that her admission letter, which belonged to her 16 years ago, had been sent to another student in the same county, whose test scores were so low that she had no chance of going to university. Another case is Gou Jing, she received a letter from her homeroom teacher, Mr. Qiu , who told her that his daughter had replaced her at the university in Beijing in 1997. Gou’s story has triggered a storm of public opinion on the Chinese Internet. In June, the Beijing News, a well-known Chinese media outlet, published an investigative report confirming Gou’s story. In July, relevant government authorities in Shandong Province released the results of their investigation. The investigation claimed that Gou Jing’s two college entrance exam results were both at the level of a junior college. The homeroom teacher’s daughter went to a technical secondary school in Beijing on Gou Jing’s behalf, not the famous Chinese university as rumored. The report claimed that 15 people had been dealt with “according to the rules and regulations,“ with the vast majority receiving “warnings“ as punishment. As a result, Gou is in an even greater predicament. On the Chinese Internet, all kinds of vicious attacks and curses were directed at her, claiming that she had exaggerated her own tragedy, fooling the public, and even calling for legal punishment of Gou Jing. There is hardly any article or discussion questioning whether the official investigation result is true. Many articles are praising the government for correcting mistakes when they find them. “When an ordinary individual challenges the system, I already have a premonition of my own petty fate.“ Gou Jing wrote at the end of her Weibo post on July 5, “Those who are awake don’t need to be called on, those who sleep don’t wake up.“ #Gaokao #Chinanews #China’scollegeentranceexam #Chineseofficialscorruption © All Rights Reserved.