Luxor graffiti indicts whole of China, says Shanghai paper

 

Tuesday 28 May 2013 13:57 BST
Comments
A photograph of the offending message ‘Ding Jinhao was here’ was posted online
A photograph of the offending message ‘Ding Jinhao was here’ was posted online

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A 15-year-old Chinese boy named Ding Jinhao has been pilloried in his home country after a piece of vandalism on Egypt's Temple of Luxor, reading "Ding Jinhao visited here", was traced back to his hand.

The Shanghai Daily, China's single daily English newspaper, condemns the young man but puts his crime in the context of wider societal failings:

"This instance shows our families and schools have failed to deliver to the children something that should be expected of any education: moral principles and civic virtues.

"Therefore it is unfair to make a 14-year-old minor a scapegoat for a disease that plagues the whole nation."

Over at Marketwatch, Michael Kitchen is more lenient:

"Not to defend Ding, but Egypt’s ancient monuments have a long history of vandalism. A number of monuments near Cairo still bear graffiti from the French troops who served in Napoleon’s 1798-1801 campaign there."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in