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'Running' quake teacher sparks fenzied debate in China
Beijing (AFP) June 11, 2008 A teacher who fled a classroom, leaving his students behind when a massive earthquake hit southwest China found himself Wednesday at the centre of a frenzied media debate. Fan Meizhong, a teacher at Guangya school in Dujiangyan, near the epicentre of the quake, was nicknamed "Running Fan" after he abandoned his students -- who all survived -- in the May 12, 8.0-magnitude quake. Chinese netizens castigated him for his "cowardly" action, while others rushed to his defence. The focus of the debate was not so much his spur-of-the-moment action but an online post he wrote 10 days after the quake, detailing what he had told his disappointed students following his dash for the door. "I am a person that seeks freedom and justice, but I am not the kind of person that puts people first and is willing to sacrifice himself," Fan wrote on tianya.cn, a social web portal. "In this fleeting moment of life and death, I could only consider sacrificing myself for my daughter, I would not care about other people, even if it were my mother, under this type of circumstance." At a time when China has been busy portraying the heroic actions of ordinary people in the quake, his comments sparked outrage online. "For the sake of other people, and for yourself, change your profession, you really are not fit to be a teacher," one online blogger said. Another retorted that Fan had "the courage to act and take responsibility." Fan has since written another blog post trying to explain his action and his comments, but to no avail. The abandoning of his students was even the subject of a live debate on Phoenix TV, a Hong Kong-based television station, at the weekend. Fan defended himself live on television, and the principal of the school, who is under great pressure to fire Fan, also defended him via telephone link. Fan's unwelcome rise to fame highlights the passion that the earthquake -- which has killed more than 69,000 people and left over 17,000 missing -- has ignited in China. Schools in quake zones have also become an extremely sensitive issue, as thousands of children died when their school buildings collapsed on top of them when other buildings around them stayed intact. Related Links Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters A world of storm and tempest When the Earth Quakes
China's 'quake lake' shrinks further: report
Beijing (AFP) June 11, 2008A day after China declared victory over a dangerous "quake lake," waters receded further Wednesday, state press said, but authorities warned the danger period was not over due to predicted heavy rains. |
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