Recently, Chen Mo, a girl hailing from Nan’an City, Fujian Province, was bombarded with a mountain of interviews from the media, followed by a mountain of trouble, after she came out first in China’s national college-entrance examination, or Gaokao.

 

Social activities kept her on the go all day. “Sometimes, I really wish that I wasn’t the winner, because then nobody would care about me and troubles would stay away from me,” Chen Mo groaned to the reporter of Strait City Daily.

 

Her recent success in the extremely competitive, annual national examination and the ensuing bumper awards were splashed all over the papers. Her Alma Mater bequeathed her 10,000 yuan shortly after the good news came; a scholarship initiated by a real estate company in Zhangzhou City gave her 100,000 yuan prize; and a municipal-level scholarship presented her with 20,000 yuan.

 

But Miss Chen’s troubles began with Zhuzici, a fund from her hometown Shuitou. This award granted the scholar 550,000 yuan and claimed the girl as the town’s shining star.

 

The huge amount of money made her family uneasy. They wavered between accepting it and declining it. Certainly, their acceptance would sparkle public controversy given the fact that the family had already received a multitude of diverse awards. Yet they also found it hard to refuse the kindness inherent in the gift.

 

Xu Yimin, vice chairman of the fund, explained: “The award is reasonable since it makes people aware of the importance of education. More students will emulate Chen Mo.”

 

After much consideration the family resolved to give the money to a local high school, the Alma Mater of Chen’s parents.

 

At the award ceremony held in late July, Chen Mo donated 500,000 of the 550,000 yuan. Many people applauded her generosity. “The money is too much for just me. I hope my donation will stimulate other students to feel enthusiasm toward their studies. I also wished to show my gratitude toward my hometown and contribute something in return,” Chen Mo said at the ceremony.

 

Over extravagant award?

 

Do outstanding students like Chen Mo deserve such huge monetary awards? This issue has become a hot topic of much public debate around China.

 

Pros

 

"A brilliant talent deserves this sum of money,” explained Wu Qichao, a vice chairman of the fund who had participated in the decision-making process regarding how much should be given to Chen Mo. “We have our reasons in awarding that much money. We feel that the decision is prudent; it was reached after many discussions.”

 

He added: “At first, we proposed to award Chen Mo 100,000 yuan, but this was later vetoed by the decision-making panel. We felt that the sum was too small in comparison to Shuitou’s blistering economy.”

 

Mr. Lin, a tea tailor, commented: “I often urge my boy to study hard, but he pooh-poohs it by saying that study is not profitable. Chen’s prize clearly shows that study can bring great rewards, but it should be more than just lucrative.”

 

Cons

 

Zhang, a student from Huaqiao University, stated: “Chen Mo doesn’t deserve that amount of money. Of course, her Alma Mater deserves credit, but the award itself doesn’t contribute anything concrete to Chinese society.”

 

Lin, a primary school teacher, commented: “It is every student’s duty to study well. But big money should be bestowed on scientists who have made outstanding achievements in their fields. China has already invested much financial aid toward improving our compulsory education system.”

 

In south Fujian Province it’s commonplace to give financial gifts to students receiving top scores in the college-entrance examinations. A case in point is a student named Zeng Chunming. His Alma Mater gave him 50,000 yuan when he received the highest marks in last year’s Gaokao. Such financial bequests may come from either an enterprise or an individual.

 

(China.org.cn by He Shan, August 7, 2007)