Teacher apologises after 'their death is good' comments on Shanghai's New Year stampede
A Chinese teacher has apologised and deleted comments on his blog that sparked fury after he wrote 'Their death is good' about Shanghai's deadly New Year's Eve stampede.
A middle school teacher in Zhuhai has apologised after his inappropriate remarks about Shanghai’s deadly New Year’s Eve stampede sparked public fury, the Southern Metropolis News reports.
Liu Xingliang has deleted the comments he posted on his microblog in the past week, but a print-screen copy of his latest microblog showed that on January 1 he wrote: “There are too many such accidents in China! Their death is good.
“They didn’t cherish their own lives and there is no rationale behind other people showing them sympathy.”
At least 36 people were killed and 49 injured in the stampede after pushing broke out on the waterfront.
Liu attached the link of a news report about the stampede to his comment, the print-screen copy of his website revealed.
His opinions quickly attracted the attention of Zhou Runfan, a Zhuhai-based online celebrity, who often uses his microblog to comment on public issues.
Zhou wrote: “It’s quite worrying that such an opinion is from a senior teacher.
READ MORE: Tight security as relatives of Shanghai stampede victims visit disaster site
“What kind of people will our children become after being taught by such teachers?”
The celebrity’s post, calling for Liu to make an apology, has been shared widely on the internet.
Liu is a mathematics teacher at Lianxi Middle School, in the city’s Doumen District.
The district’s education bureau told the Southern Metropolis News that Liu now realised his comments had been wrong and had already issued two posts on his microblog to apologise.
“He has already apologised on the internet, but many internet users are still scolding him,” an anonymous education official said.
“He has had no other choice but to delete his posts.”
The official said Liu was under pressure from the public and his mood had become “volatile”.
However, some internet users said they could not accept Liu’s apology because it is not sincere.
The official added that the local education authority had now launched a teachers’ ethics awareness campaign because of concerns that similar incidents would occur again.
