{"id":11237,"date":"2011-11-17T04:11:36","date_gmt":"2011-11-17T04:11:36","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-11-17T04:11:36","modified_gmt":"2011-11-17T04:11:36","slug":"Letting-an-Ugly-Skeleton-Out-of-China-s-Closet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=11237","title":{"rendered":"Letting an Ugly Skeleton Out of China’s Closet"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cFamily ugliness must not be aired\u201d is one of China\u2019s most familiar sayings, reflecting a code of silence that demands: don\u2019t talk about bad things happening at home. Kim Lee didn\u2019t obey the cultural command and blew open a shame-filled secret \u2014 widespread domestic violence. On Aug. 31, Ms. Lee, 40, a tall, vivacious brunette who, despite her name, is Italian-American (\u201cLee is an Ellis Island name,\u201d she explained), began posting photos of her bruised and bloodied forehead, ear and knees on Weibo, a Chinese microblog. The injuries were inflicted by her celebrity husband, Li Yang, in an attack in front of their 3-year-old daughter. The couple have two other daughters, aged 9 and 5.<\/strong> <\/p>\n

China erupted in public debate. Mr. Li is a household name for founding \u201cCrazy English,\u201d a method of learning English followed by millions who yell at the top of their voice. (Its slogan: \u201cMake the voice of China heard throughout the world!\u201d) On Sept. 10, he admitted on his Weibo that he had done it. \u201cI formally apologize to Kim,\u201d he wrote. \u201cI committed domestic violence against her.\u201d Contrition has since given way to bravado. In news interviews, while still admitting he was wrong, Mr. Li has said that it was \u201cno big deal,\u201d that domestic abuse is part of Chinese culture. Today, he is still teaching thousands of children daily in mass events at schools and stadiums. Many know he is a largely unrepentant wife-beater. All this has infuriated women\u2019s rights campaigners, scholars and ordinary people, who worry about the moral message to young people. While there have been statements of support for Mr. Li, others have dubbed him \u201cCrazy Li\u201d and said he demeans China. \u201cToday Crazy English Li Yang is coming to our school to teach,\u201d a user called Zhubinismichong wrote on her Weibo. \u201cNauseating! A person who commits domestic violence, teaching!!\u201d \u201cYou lack the most basic common sense,\u201d a riled Chen Haoran, a criminal law expert at Fudan University, told Mr. Li on a Shanghai talk show. \u201cYou believe what you did was very correct.\u201d Pleading Chinese tradition was irresponsible, said Feng Yuan, head of the Anti-Domestic Violence Network, an outreach and research center. \u201cFor a man like Li Yang who has been exposed to modern values to excuse this as Chinese culture and tradition is unacceptable,\u201d said Ms. Feng. \u201cMore and more young people today know that beating and threats are wrong.\u201d Surveys have found that domestic violence is widespread here, occurring in 25 to 35 percent of households. Most victims are women, but children, some men and, increasingly, the elderly, suffer too. Surveys suggest that around 90 percent of offenders are men. <\/p>\n

In October, the All-China Women\u2019s Federation, a government organization, said that 24.7 percent of nearly 126,000 women and girls over 10 years old had experienced domestic violence, a broad term that includes physical, sexual and emotional abuse as well as \u201ceconomic control,\u201d reported Xinhua, the state-run news agency. In March, Ms. Feng\u2019s group republished a 2004 survey of Zhejiang, Gansu and Hunan provinces, conducted with the China Law Society, showing a rate of 34.7 percent. The news media often report that 81 million families, or 30 percent of China\u2019s 270 million families, live with domestic violence, a figure supported by a 2006 survey in Society, a scholarly journal, that also found a 30 percent abuse rate. Pressure is growing for a comprehensive law against domestic violence, with advocates hoping that discussion can begin in March at the National People\u2019s Congress. Currently, the law does prohibit such violence, but the prohibition is scattered among different statutes, said Ms. Feng.<\/strong> <\/p>\n

SOURCE<\/a>
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