Henan High School Reports Multiple Student Union Officials Taking Bribes, Sparking Heated Discussion

A high school in Sichuan installed a monitoring system for students, allowing for clear observation of who lays their head down and for how long. (Online screenshot)

[November 11, 2024] Corruption in Chinese officialdom has deeply influenced even elementary and secondary school campuses. Today (11th), the Experimental High School in Xinyang City, Henan Province, made a rare announcement confirming that “multiple student union officials suspected of taking bribes,” as reported online, is true. Reportedly, these student union officials, under the pretext of enforcing discipline, confiscated students' mobile phones and then privately charged students 300 yuan (RMB, same below) per phone to return them. This incident has ignited a heated online discussion.

On November 11, the Experimental High School in Xinyang City, Henan Province, released a notice regarding the incident of “multiple student union officials suspected of taking bribes,” confirming the truth of the matter reported on November 10.

According to insiders, the student union officials, after confiscating students' mobile phones, privately charged students 300 yuan per phone to return them without reporting to teachers.

One student from the school told a mainland media outlet that student union officials took bribes under the guise of enforcing discipline: “If you don’t pay them, they’ll give you a disciplinary record or report you to the teacher.”

On Weibo, netizens directly blamed this on the culture of official corruption in the CCP, with some saying that even elementary school officials are starting to become corrupt:

“How terrible, to start corruption at the beginning of life!”

“So young, but already impressive!”

“They’ll make good leaders in the future.”

“This is very normal. Back when I was in school, class leaders collected 300 yuan from students who applied for financial aid on the grounds that it was for ‘the next semester’s aid fund.’ If they didn’t pay, they wouldn’t get the aid.”

“High school students have already learned to make money with their power. Amazing. Alas, can honest, kind, and upright people become student union or class officials? They can only be managed.”

“I’m simply shocked.”

“This is actually quite common. Many precocious kids in elementary school already ask classmates for ‘tribute,’ ignoring class rules in exchange for not reporting names to the teacher. And they’re really good at behaving one way with teachers and another with classmates.”

“To learn to use power for personal gain at such a young age, they must be influenced by what they see and hear. Schools are indeed not pure places: the various fees for materials, exam papers, desks and chairs, school choice, enrollment, tuition, extra lessons, district transfers, donations… which stage doesn’t breed corruption?”

“Most student unions are essentially obedience training bases, cultivating submissiveness from childhood.”

“We have a middle school principal here who often gambles in the village.”

“I thought they’d be expelled from school, but they’re only being removed from the student union.”

“They’ve mastered the true essence of officialdom from a young age.”

“Isn’t this extortion?”

“Successors of socialism.”

“New material for a show—quick, film one called In the Name of Classmates.”

“Training starts from a young age.”

Political commentator Li Linyi told Epoch Times that these student union officials took bribes under the pretext of enforcing discipline, and those who didn’t pay were reported. This practice likely reflects the influence of CCP officialdom culture. Over the years, the CCP has often publicized corruption cases, but this hasn’t had a deterrent effect. Many people instead imitate it, including primary and secondary students. Under CCP rule, the general social atmosphere is unhealthy, traditional culture is suppressed, and various abnormalities emerge.

As early as September 2, 2009, the mainland media Southern Metropolis Daily released an interview video filmed on the first day of school at a primary school in Guangzhou. In it, a six-year-old student stated that he wanted to “become a corrupt official” when he grew up because “corrupt officials have many things.” In an online survey, 55% of netizens believed this “reflects social reality.”

A video from 2021 of a student union official in Heilongjiang Vocational College arrogantly conducting dormitory inspections also stirred heated debate. The video showed six female student officials in matching white shirts and black suits entering a dormitory for inspection, with some speaking haughtily and exerting authority. One student official told the freshmen in the dormitory, “Remember our six faces. When we come, it’s to inspect the dormitory. Only our authority matters.”

Many netizens criticized it as “like a mafia” or “like prison guards inspecting cells.” (Previous report: Six Student Officials in Heilongjiang College Show Arrogance in Dorm Inspection, Stirring Heated Debate)

Editor: Ning Feng