From Chinese Press

University goes crazy over love

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-03-11 08:00

The Internet is agog with postings saying Fuzhou University in Fujian province has started a registration system that requires students to fill in so-called dating forms to be educated in matters of love. It may seem to be a harmless exercise but in reality it is an outrageous measure infringing on individual's privacy, says an article on rednet.cn. Excerpts:

The "dating forms" that students of Fuzhou University are required to fill up demands information such as whether a student is dating someone and whether the couple have quarreled recently. This is an infringement on individual's privacy.

The ridiculous practice of Fuzhou University shows that the institution's authorities have lost their minds and forgotten what their real role is.

We can understand the university authorities' original objective because a few female students in the past have reportedly to have committed suicide out of frustration in love.

But forcing students to fill up "dating forms" is not the ideal way of solving the problem. The authorities should adopt a different measure to guide the students. Their role should be of educators, not "interrogators".

Since love is a private affair between two people, they are not obliged to explain it to either their university or society.

Fuzhou University authorities should know that they are interfering in students' private affairs. Besides, just filling up a certain form will not stop a student from doing what he/she actually wants to do. He/she can always furnish wrong information because no one would like to make his/her private affairs public.

The "dating form" also shows that the authorities have failed in their mission as educators even in matters of love. They need to reflect on their action and devise a better way to guide students in worldly matters.

(China Daily 03/11/2011 page10)