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Crack down on fake ethnic identity scam

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-10 07:53

The government should find how ethnic identities of students can be faked so easily, says an article in Xiaoxiang Morning Post. Excerpt:

On July 4, Peking University reported a second ethnic-identity faking case. This time it was a student, Tian Zhong, who had applied for admission to the university's medical school. Tian is one of the 31 students who faked their ethnic identity in Chongqing. Peking University may now deny admission to Tian, as it had done to He Chuanyang, Chongqing's top scorer in liberal arts who, too, had faked his ethnic identity.

The cases of He and Tian are just the tip of the iceberg. There could be a lot more students out there who have faked or will fake their ethnic identity to get admitted to a college or university. The public should know how many of them are there and who are the behind-the-scene powers that helped them do so.

Students fake their ethnic identity for two reasons: because it's easy to do so, and it's hard to detect it.

We need to exercise zero tolerance toward students who fake their identity, and we need to know why it can be done so easily.

Ethnic identity is not a tool to secure bonus marks in exams and the policy of extra credits should be seriously implemented. Relevant government departments should crack down on those helping students fake their identity and help maintain fairness in national exams.

Or else, doubts over the efficacy of rules and criticism against the government will never end.

(China Daily 07/10/2009 page9)