Runaway Fan Holds His Ground

The only Chinese teacher of the class he taught, he was respectfully called "Fan Lao" (elder Fan) by the students. For the sake of this respect, he said, he wrote an article that would go on to spark severe public rebukes that would eventually cost him his job.

On the day of the devastating May 12 earthquake, when Fan first felt the first tremor, he told the students to calm down. Later, when the whole building began to rattle, he realized it was severe and ran to the playground alone.

From "Elder Fan" to "Runaway Fan"
By May 21, despite frequent aftershocks, the worst had passed. Relatives who previously took shelter in Fan's home had left.

When chatting with a student online that day, Fan was asked why he didn't tell the girl and her classmates to run for their lives when the earthquake happened. The girl added that she was "somehow disappointed".

Fan said he felt he should explain to the students that though he liked talking about freedom and humanity didn't necessarily mean he was willing to sacrifice his life.

He therefore wrote a post entitled The Moment the Earth Trembled and Mountains Swayed, in which he described how he fled the classroom and students during the quake. He found himself the first one to arrive at the playground for refuge—the whole school was in class at 2:30 in the afternoon when the earthquake occurred.

During these nine days after the earthquake, Fan told the EO that he saw the media had molded a public sentiment about sacrifice and honor, which in fact was "made up by exaggerating some facts and filtering others". "And I will show you what disorder this place is actually in and how helpless and cowardly individuals are," he said.

He published the post on his own blog and two forums that he regularly visited. There was a blast of rebukes immediately. "A reader who used to claim himself a fan of my articles directly called me "a moron"," Fan recalled.

He said he wasn't afraid at all. He argued with them, but finding more and more people joined the critics later, he got depressed and simply went to bed. Almost overnight, he became the notorious "Runaway Fan".

"His remarks fell short of a speech strategy. There was too much he wanted to challenge. He wanted to challenge the ethic of filial respect by saying he would save his daughter instead of his mother when an emergency happened.

"Actually, he got on very well with his mother, but how could the readers know?" a friend of Fan said.

In the forum "Guantian Teahouse" that Fan often visited, one of his opponents wrote, "you may think you have the true courage to provoke such controversy, and this courage have made you feel yourself standing high above others and concealed the cowardice inside. But you can't avoid your cowardice in other ways and the shock it brings to you."

Amid the storm of reproof, Fan paid a visit to his hometown. There, his family gave him a toast.

A Favorable Turn
On the night of June 7, Fan redeemed part of his reputation by appearing on a Phoenix satellite network's talk show --Tiger Talk. Being roared at by the other guest, a well-known commentator named Guo Songmin, he remained quiet and earnest. In the end, he apologized for his remarks with extra careful wording.

"In fact I had the advantage in mentality, because I had been used to roars and rebukes in the previous couple of weeks," Fan said.

"Why do we call Tan Qianqiu a hero? Because he did something far beyond the bottom line of morality, something that most people won't do and aren't required to do. If what he did was basic morality, he certainly won't become a hero," Fan debated in the talk show.

To many, Tan Qianqiu was just the opposite of Fan. Tan was a teacher in Dongqi Middle School of Sichuan's Deyang county, during the quake, he used his body to shield and save four students but himself died in the process.

Fan's comment about Tan later flooded major newspapers and forums with a headline:"Runaway Teacher Fan Meizhong: Tan Qianqiu is not a Hero".

After that talk show, however, Fan's rationale had somewhat gained some recognition and cooled the angst and contempt targeted at him.

The viewpoint Fan tried to defend is : There's a difference between the bottom line of morality, which everybody must obey, and high moral, which only a few can achieve.

It's the bottom line for government officials to stay away from bribery, but saving people and making huge donation belong to a higher level of morality, which one should not impose on others. One may die a martyr, but he shouldn't be criticized if he chooses not to do so.

Fan said his remarks were based on his true feelings: "the society tends to demand nobleness, as if it is the bottom line of morality. They do so just to blur the definition of morality, to justify immorality which commonly exists... The more high-sounding they are, the less people care about immorality."

Shortly after the debate at Phoenix's talk show, tencent.com, a leading entertainment website in China, invited Fan and social science academician Zhou Xiaozheng to an online talk show. For the first time, Fan had the chance to express himself thoroughly, and without interruption.

Trouble Coming Out of Mouth
On June 11, Fan received a dismissal letter from Guangya. According to Fan, officials of the Dujiangyan Bureau of Education (DBE) had come to the school to deliver a message from the Ministry of Education (MOE). In the interviews later, the Bureau explained the dismissal was due to Fan's moral problems as a teacher.

Talking with the EO on June 16, MOE spokesperson Wang Xuming said instead of an official order, it was the school's independent decision to fire Fan. On June 17, DBE officials paid a second visit to the school's principal, Qing. Both told the press later the decision to dismiss Fan was based on a "verbal suggestion" from the DBE.

"I have never thought of being a fighter. I'm not that type," said Fan.

"I hate disputes and trifles, but now I have to stand up to fight for my reputation and right to employment," he added.

Though being tagged with a demeaning nickname "Runaway Fan", the high-profile controversy had brought him a few new opportunities as well. A few private schools and consulting companies had offered jobs to him, and there were even some wealthy people inviting him to tutor their kids.

He also received a 500-yuan money order, which was delivered to Guangya, from a stranger in Guangdong. He said he initially planned to send it back, but was stopped by his wife because she thought it better to write a thank you letter than to decline other's kindness.

"There isn't a financial problem at the moment, though it may be hard if I remain unemployed for a long time," Fan told the EO.

Since his appearance in Tiger Talk, over ten law firms had offered legal aid. During an interview in Chongqing on the night of July 14, Fan told the press he had chosen a law firm in Tianjin. "They said they have drawn out a lawsuit plan for me. I'm going there to discuss who I should sue," he said.

In Tianjin, his lawyer suggested him to sue certain commercial websites. But to Fan, the MOE and CCTV, the state broadcaster, should be the main targets, as the former had made "insulting remarks" on him and the latter had violated his right to reputation.

MOE spokesperson Wang Xuming once commented on him through CCTV that "we may not be noble, but we can't allow shamelessness". CCTV's star anchor Bai Yansong also remarked, "we can't give room to showing off of shamelessness."

"We have the internet space today. I don't need Bai Yansong to give me room for expression. My only hope is the court will hear the case. It's not about winning a lawsuit, but about the law providing me the room to talk face to face with them,"Fan told the EO.

At 21:00 on July 16, Fan finished revising the assignment agreement with the law firm. "That's it," he said, and clicked "print". The lawyer, who had been pondering aside, slowly lifted his head and said, "Give me one week. I'll give a reply whether it's accepted then."

Twenty hours later, at the entrance of Beijing's Jianguomen subway station, Fan was walking with his head lowered. He was still recognized by a middle-aged man, who came to him and said, "You look like a famous guy on the net, but look younger than on TV."

"You've got the wrong person," Fan answered.

The man followed and kept staring at Fan, and then let out a sigh, "Trouble comes from the mouth! A lesson! A good lesson!"