Wu Guangqiang

    THREE weeks ago, I was at a truly meaningful event. Bullying Awareness Week, cosponsored by Shenzhen Concord College of Sino-Canada (SCCSC) and International School of Nanshan Shenzhen (ISNS), both joint ventures, offered me a chance to explore an issue that had long concerned me.

    Over the years I have seen things in the Chinese media that are difficult to forget: A group of teenage girls bully a girl of their own age, slapping, kicking and even stripping the victim, laughing throughout. “Protection money collecting” has long been common on campuses in China. School bullies — usually of higher grades or dropouts — pick on lower graders and extort money. Some victims have to lie to their parents about a constant need of pocket money to give to bullies in exchange for “safety.” On Nov. 16, 2010, a 14-year-old junior student at No. 19 Middle School of Maoming City, Guangdong, was stabbed to death by a classmate. The killer gave as a motive the victim’s refusal to pay protection money.

    School bullying is a universal malady. A WHO study of 48 countries shows an alarming occurrence rate of 60 percent of bullying of various forms among students. In Canada, research says that by the time students graduate from high school, 75 percent of students will have been a victim of bullying. South Korean media have described the situation in their country as “shocking.” Last year, 42 junior two students at a school in the rural area of Cheju were cheated out of a total of 20 million won (US$17,929). The extortionists consisted of students of higher grades, forming a gang.

    Things are no better in the United States. A recent study of 6,500 students in fourth to sixth grades in the rural south indicated that one in four students had been bullied with some regularity within the past three months and that one in 10 had been bullied at least once a week. On top of that, gun ownership makes American campuses among the most dangerous in the world.

    Bullying comes in various forms. It could be physical harm, verbal and emotional abuse, sexual harassment and racism. In extreme cases it is a crime. Nowadays, it takes on new forms such as cyber bullying — sending insulting messages by cell phone or computer to the victim.

    Bullying not only inflicts distress on the victim, it also damages the entire school community. Some victims are too scared to continue school. In some Chinese schools, lack of intervention has caused the problem to spread.

    Legislation is needed. In the United States, 45 states have adopted anti-bullying laws, those in Massachusetts are the most stringent. Since the enactment of the law, reported bullying cases have dropped by 50 percent in the state.

    Sadly, no such laws have been introduced in China; the slowness of passing legislation is one of the major hindrances to social advancement in China.

    Therefore, before a law is in place, it is incumbent upon school authorities to foster and increase awareness of school bullying. The event SCCSC and ISNS initiated was inspiring.

    During the one-week event, a variety of activities were held, including a Chinese essay competition, classroom window displays, a class bulletin competition, an anti-bullying pledge, Wear Pink Day and an everyday hero campaign.

    According to Amy Rankin, director of personal development of SCCSC and one of the event organizers, Bullying Awareness Week started in Canada in 2003 and is now celebrated in many countries around the world to give people an opportunity to increase awareness and encourage action. As she said, hers is the first Chinese high school to hold such an event. The goal is to draw attention to the effects of bullying and demonstrate that schools should be safe and free.

    In view of the fact that most Chinese schools are busy pushing students for academic excellence at the expense of their development in other aspects such as psychological health, integrity and creativity, these smiling children and teachers in pink T-shirts offer us a fresh perspective of the true meaning of education.

    (The author is an English tutor and a freelance writer. He can be reached at jw368@163.com.)