Role model with no morals

Comment on "Retrial amid reform"(China Daily, April 24)

The reason why Wu Ying's case has received so much public attention is that so many young people I meet identify with her. This includes young people who usually have no interest in public affairs.

The reason why they admire Wu Ying is that she has fulfilled the dreams of their generation by becoming a billionaire while she was only in her mid-twenties even though she came from a relatively poor farming family.

In other words, Wu Ying epitomizes the values of most young people: to be confident, rich and attractive without being aggressive. Her only mistake, in their eyes, is she got caught.

What is missing, of course, is the moral dimension. But who and where are young people like Wu Ying going to learn this from? The current education system doesn't teach an ethical code.

Further, they are unlikely to learn ethical values from their parents who, from an early age, encourage their children to think that exam success is everything no matter how the results are obtained. In today's society where getting rich as quickly as possible is the aim of most young people and how such wealth is accumulated is hardly even worth considering, is it surprising that Wu Ying is the heroine of her age?

Ross Grainger, via e-mail

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(China Daily 05/17/2012 page9)