Wu Guangqiang

    jw368@163.com

    ON June 5, 34-year-old Bao Laixu, a migrant worker from Gansu Province, started a fire on a bus in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, leaving 32 people injured; some of them are still in critical condition, including Bao himself.

    Since Bao is in a coma, his motive is still unclear, but some clues point to extreme individualism. The fact that he had been diagnosed with tuberculosis led to the speculation that he might have committed the atrocity because of his world-weary attitude. Some claim Bao said that he wanted to make a name for himself by imitating other vicious criminals, police said. It is very likely that his misanthropy or desire to take revenge on society motivated the crime.

    If Bao’s motivation is confirmed to be personal revenge on society, he is not alone. Over the years, numerous incidents involving the murder of innocent people, perpetrated by individuals who claim to have “grievances,” have taken place in many parts of China.

    On June 7, 2013, Chen Shuizong, a native of Xiamen, Fujian Province, set the bus he was riding on fire, killing 48 passengers, including himself, and injuring 34 others. Based on his suicide note released by police, he committed the arson out of despair and resentment for society because he had been “unfairly treated.”

    The real culprit behind these violent incidents is surging extreme individualism in China. Some place personal interests above everything else, and they don’t care about other people’s interests as long as their own are satisfied.

    Some degree of individualism has been good for China since it encourages individuals to strive for what they want and inspires innovation. Traditional ideology that required absolute obedience to a collective derived from thousands of years of feudalism had suffocated national vitality in production and creativity until the adoption of the reform and opening up policies of the 1980s. Freed from the shackles of feudalism and ultra-left ideals, Chinese people, young ones in particular, began displaying tremendous potential in entrepreneurship and innovation. Jack Ma, Ma Huateng, and Lei Jun, founders of Alibaba, Tencent and Xiaomi, and many other successful people are the best of the best who have achieved extraordinary things through standing out from the crowd and being individuals. This was unimaginable in the years before the reform.

    Extreme individualism is not individualism’s twin brother or cousin, however; this is an issue of vice vs. virtue.

    At least in the Chinese context, individualism advocates each citizen’s lawful rights and encourages everyone to climb the social ladder, but it never calls for a confrontation between individualism and collectivism, much less encourages individual achievements at the cost of others’ interests or even by illegal means.

    Unfortunately, the virus of extreme individualism is spreading throughout China, partly because of the endorsement of corrupt officials’ bad behaviors, celebrities displaying their wealth and power, the media’s thinly veiled trumpeting of the extravagant lives of the rich and famous and a perverted sympathy for criminals like Bao and Chen because of their supposed “grievances.”

    The worst example of the concerted promotion of extreme individualism is Guo Meimei’s shameless show. Guo, 23, shot to fame overnight in 2011 after she posted pictures online of her extravagant lifestyle and claimed to be the general manager of a company called Red Cross Commerce. The Red Cross denied any connection with Guo, but her shameless display caused irreparable damage to the Red Cross.

    Strangely, instead of receiving any punishment for her harm to public interests, Guo became even more popular with more public appearances and wild displays of her wealth from dubious sources.

    Guo’s “success” sent a message to young people — anyone can get riches or fame by any means regardless of consequences. Impudence, selfishness, greed and truculence are no longer derogatory terms to Guo and her ilk.

    Now, Guo has been detained for soccer gambling; hopefully she will receive her due punishment, which, in turn, will signal an end to the unhealthy growth of extreme individualism in China.

    (The author is an English tutor and freelance writer.)