Officials in Shandong Province were punished for conspiring in identity thefts, forgeries and cover-ups that robbed students of their earned university slots and gave them to those from more privileged families.
Officials in Shandong Province were punished for conspiring in identity thefts, forgeries and cover-ups that robbed students of their earned university slots and gave them to those from more privileged families. Chen Chunxiu, the woman who first brought the systemic fraud to light, took the gaokao (China’s national college entrance exam) in 2004, but was never informed about her spot at a provincial university. Believing she did not pass, Chen worked in a factory and other jobs before becoming a kindergarten teacher. In 2020, 16 years later, Chen applied to enroll in a vocational program for adults, only to discover that according to a government database, she had already graduated university. An investigation ensued, revealing Chen’s imposter, the niece of the Party secretary of Chen’s village who, conspiring with other officials, faked documents to steal Chen’s identity. The story sparked public outcry, prompting the provincial government to further scrutinize university degrees awarded over the past two years. So far 242 imposters have been identified. Netizens called for harsher punishments for fraud involving the gaokao, one of the few avenues that poor families have for social mobility.
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