SCHOOLS OF HARD KNOCKS

BY DAVID DAWSON



SCHOOLS OF HARD KNOCKS

BY DAVID DAWSON

China responds to spate of savage bullying incidents caught on camera

面对频频发生的校园欺凌事件，我们该何去何从？

O ne afternoon in January of 2014， X iao was on his way to an internet café in Beijing with two friends. The 14-year-old was confronted by two older boys；in an instant his friends had fed. The two older boys dragged X iao out to a nearby open space where Guo was waiting for him. M edia reports at the time indicated that Guo had been in trouble with the authorities for bullying in the past， for which Guo blamed X iao. The result， caught on camera by one of the boys and which would later go viral online， was confronting in its brutality. X iao was left beaten and his attackers urinated on his face.

This incident was just the f rst of many to show up online； students have been fatally stabbed or beaten by classmates，teachers have beaten students， students have beaten teachers，and one boy was taken away in the m iddle of an exam for emergency surgery after a beating had apparently left him w ith a ruptured spleen. And these are merely physical examp les bullying—not to mention other forms of verbal， emotional， and psychological abuse.

Chinese schools aren't typically known for bullying； when asked about it， many Chinese assume that students simply don't have the time for it on account of all the studying that is required.

But the worrying number of f lmed incidents of savage physical bullying that have gone viral online is a testament to the fact that China has a real bullying problem， both in schools and outside the school halls， and authorities are gradually acknow ledging the scale of the problem.

RAISING AWARENESS

In May of 2016， the State Council issued a circular that instructed schools to set up anti-bullying measures， including hotlines and inspectors that will liaise with schools， and it specifed bullying as being either physical or verbal. It was a rare sign of recognition at the highest levels of government and was echoed in June by Prime M inister Li Keqiang， who penned a letter on the best ways to end the cycle of campus violence. He suggested improving laws and regulations， improving students' awareness of laws and rights， and， in typical offcialspeak， told education authorities to “resolutely” put an end to behavior that disregards human dignity and lives.

If anything， the m issives from the authorities， along with the reactions in the media afterward， indicated the complexity of the problem and the lack of tools available for dealing w ith it. The Beijing Review， for example，asked four experts to weigh in on the issue， but most ended up kicking the can toward parental responsibility，offering only vague hopes that “moral values” could improve with time and that the government must take harsher action against offenders.

As crim inal psychologist Ma Ai points out that this problem is one that has to be viewed in a broad societal context. “School bullying has existed for a long time， both in ancient China and the present day，” he says， but hastens to add that there are defnitely modern aspects to what we are seeing. “These attacks no longer f t into the behavior expected of juveniles， and society and parents are paying a lot more attention to the problem these days.”

He adds that it is diffcult to gauge the actual rates of bullying， as media coverage now puts the incidents in a different light. Sim ilarly， he cautions against making sweeping generalizations about the more recent trend of publicly sharing videos of this brutality. In some cases the videos are shared by the bullies themselves， but there are also plenty of cases where appalled bystanders have up loaded the videos. “We can't know the motivations of every individual who posts these videos online， but generally，they are driven by their own emotions. They are rarely thinking about the teenage identity of the victims or the bullies.”

Online comments reveal how each commentator can look into the problem and see their own assumptions refected back at them—some say the problem is that rapid development has left children without a moral compass， others agitate for harsher punishments. Some pointout the many children left behind in rural areas as parents went to work in the cities. O thers blame schools for not guiding students well enough，while plenty blame the heavy study workload for pushing kids to lash out. Some decry the gaps in the legal system or the ways in which m inors can evade punishment. M inors of 16 years age or less are exempt from crim inal liabilities， but not legal liabilities.

The Law of the PRC on juvenile crimes has specifc regulations in terms of these crimes， but the problems tend to be in enforcement rather than a lack of laws.

But when online comments reference the response from authorities， there is one particular bullying incident involving Chinese teenagers that frequently crops up in discussions on the Chinese internet. This was because it didn't even occur in China.

THE SAN GABRIEl INCIDENT

In January of 2016， three Chinese teenagers—Zhai Yunyao， Yang Yuhan， and Zhang X inlei—were sent to prison for the M arch 2015 kidnapping and assault of their classmate Liu Yiran in California's San Gabriel Valley， after a plea deal saw prosecutors drop the torture charge， which held a much stiffer sentence.

Zhai received 13 years in p rison，Yang 10， and Zhang six. Zhang's lawyer had argued that he was merely a bystander.

The trio forced Liu， who was 18 at the time， to w ipe ice cream and cigarette butts off the foor of an ice cream parlor using her hands. Then，in a nearby park， they stripped her naked， slapped her， kicked her， and burned her w ith cigarette butts. At a hearing， the judge even referenced the W illiam Golding's classic tale of children embracing brutality， the Lord of the Flies.

W hile much of the on line commentary focused on the issue of “parachute” children studying in the US without their parents，another key part of the response to the incident in China， as indicated by numerous online comments， ran contrary to the stereotypical Western view of authoritarian China： Chinese disciplinarians praised American laws for being tough on crime， lamenting China's seem ing inability to use laws to punish its own bullies.

That is to say， the Americans punished them and they were seen to be punished， but this kind of respons is perceived as lacking in China.

These kinds of comments hinted at a broad sentiment that institutions are failing to provide an appropriate atmosphere for the Chinese students and by extension the strong belief in the importance of education held by Chinese parents.

The f rst instinct when faced by a bullying epidem ic is to ask who is responsible， but there， things get incredibly murky.

WHO'S IN CHARGE？

Instances of classroom violence don't always involve two students. It is perhaps unsurprising to hear that unprofessionalism and poor trainingamong many of the country's teachers have resulted in violent actions toward students. Kindergarten teachers have been f red for pricking students with needles， others have slapped students and been attacked in response. One veteran kindergarten teacher pitted kindergarten students against each other in bareknuckle boxing matches. He was quoted in the South China M orning Post as saying that he did this after， “an idea popped up in my m ind. Given that you were all so energetic， I would opt to let ［them］ practice boxing with each other to see who would w in.”

It's not just the teachers dishing out punishment； in one viral video in April 2016， a high school teacher in Anhui Province got into an argument with a student after he reportedly refused to hand in an English essay during a night class. He then grabbed the student's wrists， before grabbing his neck. The student resisted， began to hit back， then fve other students came to his aid resulting in a braw l against the teacher. The principal of the school was later suspended as authorities conducted an investigation.

The incident demonstrated that teacher training， or the lack thereof， is no doubt a large part of the problem， though it can't be viewed in isolation from the system in which teachers work， nor can it be separated from issues regarding resources or history. After all， 50 years ago， teachers were subject to all manner of beatings and humiliation from students. But now， of course， things are dramatically different. China has fabulously wealthy schools， just as it has impoverished ones， and there are no surprises for guessing where the worst problems occur.

To be fair to the teachers， in the absence of strongly enforced rules， teachers face a diffcult balancing act. One teacher， writing in Shanghaibased web publication Sixth Tone， recently described the phenomenon of “kidults” being a headache， even at the university level. W riting under the pen name Wang Hua， the teacher said that unrepentant students， chastised for w rongdoing， run to their “kidult” parents. These parents then bully the teachers through constant harassment， until such time as poor grades are upgraded. Beleaguered administrators all too often take the parents' side， in order to smooth things over and because some parents see the stakes as being so high it warrants the effort，even if the students aren't keen on studying.

As Ma Ai mused， Chinese society is in a period of transition. “As we have more sense of the rules and respect for laws and can see more rulebreaking punished， maybe this w ill have some cautionary effects on kids，” he said. “School bullying is ultimately related to values and social interaction patterns， as well as the behavioral patterns of teenager sin this generation. Today，compared to my generation， they are more aware of their individual rights.”

“This is one part of legal awareness， but we also need to interpret it as rights and responsibilities. We can't just simplify the current situation as being in chaos or disorder，” he said. “M aybe it's a phenomenon happening in a period of transition， from a society ruled by men to one rule by laws and morality， of both rights and obligations.”