Curse of the Silver Spoon
Ms. Dong Xiying, a medical intern at one of China’s most prestigious hospitals, has officially become the most offensive person in the country, along with her fellow doctor Xiao Fei at the same hospital—a couple whose actions has triggered investigation from China’s ministerial-level agency, the National Health Commission. The stakes are high—the outcome of the investigation, if it appears frivolous, could call into question the legitimacy of China’s institutional arrangements.
Ms. Dong’s career and love life—an entangled unity in her case—were thrust into the public eye by a letter from the wife of her boyfriend, Xiao Fei, who also happens to be the father of her unborn child. According to the letter, Xiao left an anesthetized patient for as long as 40 minutes during an operation to defend Ms.Dong against an accusation from a fellow nurse that Dong was not following proper protocol. Xiao’s chivalry led to the revocation of his CPC party membership and the dismissal from his job.
Though not detailed in the letter, it didn’t take long for Chinese netizens to uncover the specifics of Ms. Dong’s résumé—an economics undergrad from Barnard College in New York City, currently enrolled in the ‘4+4 program’ at Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH). Typically, a Chinese graduate eligible for a doctor position must go through eight years of medical education-a process the ‘4+4 program’ shortens to four years. The innovative program prides itself on opening doors to non-medical students who have graduated from top universities globally—a criterion Ms. Dong seems suspiciously unqualified for. She is, however, said to come from a family deeply entrenched in the medical as well as the science and technology industries. None of these claims have been verified yet, but they do highlight where public suspicion is directed.
. The ‘4+4 program’ quickly became a trending topic on social media.
We have to give the Chinese public credit for not indulging in classic slut shaming, as it would be pitifully beside the point. If the couple’s very public love affair has any values, it provides a survey of political moods and obsessions of China today. They stepped on perhaps the most sensitive nerve—one that has been increasingly strained over the past few decades since China’s reform and opening-up: the issue of inequality. Is the ‘4+4 program’ as a whole a gift reserved for nepo babies? Does Dong and Xiao’s brazen violation of medical ethics reveal a newly cultivated class unbound by social norms? Several more graduates of the ‘4+4 program,’ who share similar backgrounds to Ms. Dong, became collateral damage and were questioned online by enraged netizens.
China is now holding its breath for the outcome of the National Health Commission’s investigation. Professor Fan Yongpeng’s words have never been more timely in understanding China’s obsession with equality. He proposed three dimensions for evaluating the level of justice in any society: equality of wealth, power, and morality. While wealth inequality exists in every country today—including China, hence Xi’s “Common Prosperity” initiative—the crux of the matter is whether it easily translates into inequality of political power and moral judgment. For example, can money buy legislation or the stigmatization of the have-nots? The U.S. may have already kissed away all three; China will always demur at the temptation to do so.
Editor: Zhiyu Wang
