Schools of hard By David Dawson

China responds to spate of savage bullying incidents caught on camera

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One afternoon in January of 2014， Xiao 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 fled. The two older boys dragged Xiao out to a nearby open space where Guo was waiting for him. Media reports at the time indicated that Guo had been in trouble with the authorities for bullying in the past， for which Guo blamed Xiao. The result， caught on camera by one of the boys and which would later go viral online， was confronting in its brutality. Xiao was left beaten and his attackers urinated on his face.

This incident was just the first 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 middle of an exam for emergency surgery after a beating had apparently left him with a ruptured spleen. And these are merely physical examples bullying—not to mention other forms of verbal， emotional， and psychological abuse.

Chinese schools arent typically known for bullying; when asked about it， many Chinese assume that students simply dont have the time for it on account of all the studying that is required.

But the worrying number of filmed 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 acknowledging 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 specified 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 Minister 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 official-speak， told education authorities to “resolutely” put an end to behavior that disregards human dignity and lives.

If anything， the missives 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 with 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 criminal 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 definitely modern aspects to what we are seeing. “These attacks no longer fit 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 difficult to gauge the actual rates of bullying， as media coverage now puts the incidents in a different light. Similarly， 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 uploaded the videos. “We cant 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 reflected back at them—some say the problem is that rapid development has left children without a moral compass， others agitate for harsher punishments. Some point out the many children left behind in rural areas as parents went to work in the cities. Others 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 minors can evade punishment. Minors of 16 years age or less are exempt from criminal liabilities， but not legal liabilities.

The Law of the PRC on juvenile crimes has specific 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 didnt even occur in China.

The San Gabriel incident

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

Zhai received 13 years in prison， Yang 10， and Zhang six. Zhangs lawyer had argued that he was merely a bystander.

The trio forced Liu， who was 18 at the time， to wipe ice cream and cigarette butts off the floor of an ice cream parlor using her hands. Then， in a nearby park， they stripped her naked， slapped her， kicked her， and burned her with cigarette butts. At a hearing， the judge even referenced the William Goldings classic tale of children embracing brutality， the?Lord of the Flies.

While much of the online 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 Chinas seeming 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 response 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 first instinct when faced by a bullying epidemic is to ask who is responsible， but there， things get incredibly murky.

Whos in Charge？

Instances of classroom violence dont always involve two students. It is perhaps unsurprising to hear that unprofessionalism and poor training among many of the countrys teachers have resulted in violent actions toward students. Kindergarten teachers have been fired 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 Morning Post?as saying that he did this after， “an idea popped up in my mind. Given that you were all so energetic， I would opt to let [them] practice boxing with each other to see who would win.”

Its 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 students wrists， before grabbing his neck. The student resisted， began to hit back， then five other students came to his aid resulting in a brawl 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 cant 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 difficult balancing act. One teacher， writing in Shanghai-based web publication Sixth Tone， recently described the phenomenon of “kidults” being a headache， even at the university level. Writing under the pen name Wang Hua， the teacher said that unrepentant students， chastised for wrongdoing， 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 arent 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 rule-breaking punished， maybe this will 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 cant just simplify the current situation as being in chaos or disorder，” he said. “Maybe its 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.”