Interesting roundup of all the various China Earthquake rumours here: I especially liked the swarm of toads noted in the earthquake zone in the run up to the quake. Nice Fortean touch, that. We also have literature:
According to a blogger named Zhu Guangbing, he called the Guangya Schol in Dujiangyan city at around 8pm on June 14 and found out from a female on duty that the school has just formally dismissed Fan Meizhong, because "the Department of Education has formally notified us that the teacher license for Fan Meizhong has been cancelled. He is like a driver without a license. We cannot employ him any more."
Fan was teaching when the earthquake started, at which point he did a runner without making any attempt to help his pupils. To make matters worse, he then wrote an essay on his blog justifying his actions:
When the quake struck, rather than overseeing an orderly evacuation, he said he just shouted "Stay calm, it's an earthquake!" and ran for it without looking back to see if his pupils were following."I ran towards the stairs so fast that I stumbled and fell as I went. When I reached the centre of the football pitch, I found I was the first to escape. None of my pupils was with me," wrote the man now known across China as 'Runner Fan'.
His explanation was simple. "I have a very strong sense of self-preservation," he said. "I have never been a brave man and I'm only really concerned about myself."
Now, due to public demand, he’s been sacked. It just shows you how much China is liberalizing: these days the public are allowed to lead the witch hunts.
“Runner Fan” taught literature. I wonder if he read Lord Jim.
Comments