Learning From The Sun Xu Episode : Live and Speak Wisely

The Saga Of Sun Xu and Why He Was Punished 

In Feb 2012, Sun Xu, a Chinese national who is an MOE scholar in Singapore,  posted on his Chinese blog :

“It’s so annoying to have gangster Singapore uncles stare at you when you bump into them. There are more dogs than humans here in Singapore.”  (rough translation)

Soon, this went viral and turned into a mega explosion.

Many students in Singapore were outraged.

Then many Singaporean netizens were more outraged.

Singaporeans were up in arms over a Sun Xu‘s derogatory comment.

To aggravate matters, Sun Xu was quoted to be ‘unrepentant’ whilst a police report was lodged against him for a ‘knife threat’.

Soon, anyone who defended Sun Xu, or is perceived to defend him, would be caught in the firestorm.  This includes even a well respected MP Baey Yam Keng who had to apologise in parliament despite his intention to soothe the incident.

Then apparently, some Chinese nationals stood in defence of Sun Xu through internet postings.

This caused questions about how anyone would defend Sun Xu, and the saga continued.

Simultaneously, netizens were questioning MOE’s lack of stand on the issue of  ‘Singaporeans being attacked’..

And the National University of Singapore (NUS) was involved – to investigate and decide on whether punishment was needed.

Netizens then accused NUS of being slow to administer punishment.

Anyone who made a mis-comment risks being embroiled in the saga.  Even those who suggest closure and moving on.

Surrounding all these saga came larger perspectives of whether Singapore should be awarding scholarships to  foreigners… and very sensitive views of Singapore government not doing enough for Singaporeans…

No clear cut answers, but on 27 Mar 2012, NUS announced its much awaited investigation outcome :

Chinese MOE scholar Sun Xu has been fined $3,000 and required to perform 3 months of community service by the  (NUS) for calling Singaporeans “dogs” on his microblog.

The NUS on Monday also revoked the engineering student’s scholarship benefits for his final semester.

Guess what – strong views came about that the punishment was too little, and/or too late.

Dear Reader, it’s not by coincidence that you are reading this article.

So, what’s your view of the whole saga?

 

Or more importantly,

What Role Did You Play?  

Let me clarify : In life, sagas, crisis often happen.. sometimes, totally unexpectedly.

Some said ranting is extremely common on the internet, which is uncensored and allows expression of views.  And Sun Xu was apparently ranting, albeit recklessly.  [I had to add the last 2 words just in case…]

There were many parties involved : The ranter, the netizens, outraged locals, foreigners, governement, MOE, NUS…  at some point you would play one of the roles.

Ranter : when you pen your thoughts on your facebook (how often are you that careful?) and when things go wrong, you rebel before admitting your guilt..

Netizens : when you comment or read news on internet and form your views (how often do you NOT form a view after reading on a major issue) .. and then you want blood, rightfully, from your perspective…

Outraged locals : when you view there is unfairness in policy, and there are ungrateful people who benefit from the policy… (how often do you think there is fairness in any government policy?)

Foreigners : you have to study or work abroad for a certain period of time (how often do you feel compassionate towards others who are like you)

Government : when you make a policy that affects many but you know every policy has its pros and cons, and this could happen to you while at work and you are the ‘government’ (what do you do when the cons surface in an unavoidable way)

MOE :  like the governement, you make policies but you are sandwiched between larger policies and those bodies that listen to you (like you have a boss or bosses, and you have staff…and the public/customers to manage)

NUS : when everyone is waiting for your decision, and you have to act and decide wisely and swiftly (but you know whatever the outcome, you will  get some flak…so you have to balance your decision fairly and wisely)

If you think about it, perhaps you have played a majority of the roles…

 

That’s the essence and beauty of life.  And in each role, you can make a difference.

Today, after reading this article, what role are you going to play?
I believe a majority holds that view that Sun Xu ought to have been more careful in expressing his views of another country which is sponsoring his education.  And many find his initial ‘unrepentant actions’ unforgiveable.

If you were Sun Xu, or someone who has made a mistake, how would you express remorse?  Have you been in a situation when you expressed yourself in an opposite manner before?

I would have liked to say that if I were Sun Xu, I would do it differently.  But I know that when if I were caught in the firestorm myself, I might not be able to think so carefully… the same applies to all the parties in the firestorm.

Well, time to ask the next question :

 

 What Have We Learnt From The Sun Xu Saga?

Incidents are part and parcel of the human life.  They come and they go.  It’s not helpful  saying that we should avoid them or that they would never happen to us because life comes with the ups, the downs, the experiences and the incidents.  Sometimes incidents can happen to you even if you want to avoid.

So, we better learn from others’ experiences before some incident happens to us, whether in our everyday’s life or at work.

For me, I have learnt the importance of expressing remorse in an appropriate manner, when I feel and know I should, even if it means putting my dignity and pride on the line.

I have also learnt that in I play multi-faceted roles in  life and hence it is important to practise wisdom in whichever role I play.

Finally, I have learnt how to forgive and move on, when that seems to be the best option.  It is human to err.  When I make mistakes, I pray that those who were hurt by my words and actions can find it in their hearts to forgive me.

Sun Xu has been punished.  I know we can celebrate the different views and may we all find wisdom in all these different views, and the eventual closure.

Thank you for reading this article on “Learning From The Sun Xu Episode”

Written by The Living Guru
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