The Chinese associate professor Chen Hongyou (陈宏友) has stirred major controversy this week for remarks made during a speech at a school in Hefei, Anhui.
Chen Hongyou, a well-known Hefei Normal University pedagogy teacher who reportedly has given over 1000 speeches, was invited to give a motivational speech at the Lujiang Middle School (庐江中学) on Saturday, February 18. Founded in 1903, the Lujiang Middle School is a locally acclaimed school with approximately 4000 students.
Just before Chen’s talk, he apparently improvised a short, informal speech since it was still taking some time for the PowerPoint presentation to load. This small speech, intended to warm up the audience, would soon grab nationwide attention.
The key to this story, namely what did Chen Hongyou actually say during his speech, is not specifically reported in Chinese media. This is something that was questioned by Chinese social commentator Sima Nan (司马南) in his most recent video, in which he wondered why an outline of Chen’s speech was not available to the public despite the major media attention for the incident.
According to various blogs and social media posts, Chen basically talked about how the goal of studying is to make money, as money brings power. Chen allegedly also argued that the better the university, the more chances of finding a partner from a bigger pool of people. This is important, because Chen apparently believes that mixing races – ‘the further apart partners live, the better’ – would provide better genes for the next generation.
Chen’s brother and his wife allegedly were born and raised in the same region, and their kids made it to college. Chen and his wife were born 100 km apart from each other, and their kid made it into a better university. Then he mentioned his son, who is now living in the US with his American girlfriend, and how their future children must have even better genes.
Chen presumably also made negative remarks about same-sex relations and encouraged students with high grades to find foreign partners in order to ‘produce’ children with better genes.
One student was so offended by the speech that he came up to the stage and seized Chen’s microphone, shouting out:
“He only has money on his mind. He is studying for money. He worships foreign things and bows to foreign powers [崇洋媚外]. [Applause] Why are we studying so hard? For the Great Rejuvenation of the Chinese nation! And not to breed with Americans. We are Chinese. Fellow students, study earnestly. For the rise of the Chinese people.”
A video of that moment also went viral on Chinese social media.
One student came up on stage to stop Chen’s speech.
After the student’s comments, the audience cheers and applauds. Chen gets the mic back and the students walks off stage.
On February 19, the official Weibo account of Hefei (capital of Anhui province) published a statement saying the incident was being investigated. That same day, staff members at the school stated that the student who came on stage and took the mic away from Chen would not be punished (#庐江中学称不会处理抢话筒学生#).
Chen Hongyou himself later also responded to the issue saying that he has temporarily been suspended from his function and that he regrets that his words were “misunderstood” by the students, for which he takes responsibility. Chen’s name and resume were also removed from his university’s website.
On social media, both the teacher and Chinese media outlets are getting attacked for their words and deeds.
Criticizing Chinese Media Reports
The Chen Hongyou incident went viral shortly after it happened. As mentioned, the exact context of what was actually said during Chen’s controversial speech was missing from Chinese media reports.
On Chinese social media, many netizens along with some major bloggers (including Sima Nan) criticized Chinese media outlets for seemingly ‘siding’ with Chen and not clearly reporting on what it was that was so upsetting to the students attending Chen’s talk.
Chinese news outlet The Paper (澎湃) is among the main outlets being criticized for their reports on the incident.
The Paper initiated a hashtag on social media about Chen Hongyou responding to the incident (#陈宏友回应讲座引不满被高中生反呛#), as their reporters had interviewed Chen by phone. In that interview, Chen stated that he had been misunderstood and that the goal of his speech had been to get the message across that the youth has the power to single-handedly change their destiny and to navigate their place in the country and in the world.
The report triggered criticism, as many commenters wondered why The Paper had not interviewed any of the students.
“Why aren’t you reporting what Chen said?” a common reply said.
“Right now, all the media, led by The Paper, are avoiding the important issues and are dwelling on the trivial things to defend this ‘professor,'” one commenter (@吴知山) wrote, claiming that Chinese media purposely left out the teacher’s remarks regarding race and ‘improving’ genes by choosing a foreign partner.
As online discussions heated up, several hashtags related to the incident and its aftermath were taken offline.
Supporting Zhang Zhenfei
Meanwhile, the student who came on stage is widely praised on Chinese social media, where many call him a “role model.”
Chinese political commentator Hu Xijin (胡锡进) responded to the Chen Hongyou incident via Weibo on Tuesday and sided with the student, calling him “courageous” for coming up on stage to make it clear that Chen was “out of line.”
Many people agreed with Hu, and soon the student, named Zhang Zhenfei (蒋振飞), was praised on Weibo and beyond for having the courage to speak out against the professor.
“I’m touched, I’m grateful, I’m extremely moved,” one person wrote about him.
But there are also people who are more critical of the student, suggesting that Chen was giving a speech – he was not teaching – and that he should have been able to express his ideas without his microphone being grabbed away like that.
The Chen Hongyou controversy comes at a time when there is, again, more attention for Chinese education and teaching material in Chinese schools. Last week, the topic of “poisonous teaching material” also went trending on Weibo (#毒教材必须引发全社会反思#) as various bloggers expressed concerns over ‘harmful’ textbooks being used in schools.
In pointing out harmful content in textbooks, concerned bloggers and parents also often mention content that is seen as being unpatriotic and “worshipping the West.” For example, in the 2022 controversy over the “ugly maths schoolbooks,” one point of concern – among many others – was about the cartoon kids in the book wearing clothes showing the American flag.
Many commenters also connect the current controversy surrounding teacher Chen with existing concerns over ‘poisonous’ text books, calling for a “clean-up” of China’s education system.
One Weibo user wrote: “Our kids can’t be taught this kind of talk that the goal of studying is to go to the U.S. and earn money and marry an American in order to ‘optimize’ our race! He is suggesting the Chinese people aren’t good enough. It’s criminal, and he should be punished according to law.”
By Manya Koetse
with contributions by Miranda Barnes
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