Daily commentary about China by TIME correspondents.

In China, Mistresses Get Pink Slips of a Different Kind

My colleague Lin Yang writes:

 

 

With the flagging economy, no one's job is secure, not even for a mistress. A Qingdao newspaper reported that a Qingdao businessman facing money problems decided to “fire” four out of his five mistresses last December.

According to the paper the man, surnamed Fan, was “inspired by those talent challenge programs he saw on TV”, and arranged similar competitions for his five mistresses. Only the top winner would remain Fan's mistress and enjoy a monthly income of US$800 and an apartment. The five women then presented themselves in front of a professional model trainer, gave speeches, sang songs and even gulped down liquor to show their drinking capacity. 

All went as Fan planned until one of the women turned out to be a very bad loser. Fan's first mistress, Yu, came from rural Shanxi, and being the least educated among the five had trouble finding another job to support herself. Determined to take revenge, she invited Fan and the other four women on a road trip and drove off a cliff on the way. Yu died but the others survived.

Most readers of the story find it hard to sympathize with Fan or the mistresses, especially when millions are having trouble making an honest living. But the tragedy is not entirely of their own making. Wealth has become the main criterion for success and happiness in this society, yet it's not easy for ordinary people to work towards an affluent life. Hundreds of thousands of college graduates are left unemployed every year and even less help is available to those with little education. If there were other options for women like Yu to make a decent living perhaps the tragedy could have been avoided.   

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  • 1

    What a tragedy...

    Chinese society should dig again their almost forgotten valuable cultural heritages that teach how to live in good balance between material and spiritual pursuits.

    http://chinese-tales.blogspot.com/

  • 2

    You can change the name of people and country and it will almost fit everywhere. It is universal phenomena.

  • 3

    Yes, I can see a guy in New York with 5 mistresses and got killed on a road trip with all five mistresses all in the same car. He will get killed all right, but not in a car accident.

  • 4

    The time honored cultural heritage is to have five mistresses, or more. So this guy is doing exactly what is called for. And that is considered a good balance. Only unbalanced, or poor people, have only one wife.

    The poor girl from the farm has no where to go, and no way to make a living. She was desperate. And she probably get used to the good life as well, and cannot go back to her rural roots.

    She is lucky that she is not in any of the western countries. She would have to line up in welfare offices to apply for welfare or social assistance, government training programs, etc.

  • 5

    Absurd, but normal in China, where morality has died, religions and belief are in crisis, equality has gone to hell.

  • 6

    The communism is the most advanced political system, so it fit everywhere and everyone, including Canada, and you, "Canadian".

  • 7

    Lol, yeah because religion and beliefs are the answers to all of China's problems.

  • 8

    John Smith
    Do you know how many women threw themselves at Donald Trump at a time. That is the trademark of wealthy and powerful men everywhere. French politicians are famous for that too. They are called girlfriends instead of mistress. And most of those women are nothing but gold diggers.
    Talking about religion that is supposed to cure all social illness.
    Last time, I counted about at least 15 so-called religious superstars that use public funds for sex with woman and man and then I lost count.
    One famous American once said, "Our politicians are corrupted by money and power; businessmen/women are worse and unfortunately, religious leaders are the worst.

  • 9

    I saw this on CNN. Here is the link.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbVw7entkxg
    John Smith:
    Can you translate what your mother was saying?
    May be it was conscienceinchina, not John's mother.

  • 10

    "Do you know how many women threw themselves at Donald Trump at a time."

    No, I don't know. Sounds like you are speaking about personal experience. So did Donald throw you out of the building personally or he had to call the police or security. Anyway, thank goodness Donald didn't take all the women thrown at him. But China is of course, different, much more prosperous than the US. No wonder there are so many men, especially government officials with kept women. Do you know that 99% of the thousands (40,0000 a year, out of 40 million) Chinese government officials found guilty of corruption by the Chinese government have kept women ? No other country have that kind of extraordinary level of conviction, or kept women. Of course, China is the only country that goes after corruption. All other countries just hide it. Or at least that's what Chinese government are telling the world.

  • 11

    sing666: You are not my mother !! And I don't care what you say in that video. Sounds like typical Chinese.

  • 12

    "Last time, I counted about at least 15 so-called religious superstars that use public funds for sex with woman and man and then I lost count."

    And how many communist china government officials did that last year ? 40,000 ? 15 over no matter how many years is a pale comparison with the Chinese record. And, of course, the CCP is still the only solution to all Chinese ills. There isn't any other. Or at least that's what CCP is telling the world. And all Chinese, only Chinese, believe that.

  • 13

    “加拿大”五毛:你的中共主子的名声够臭了,可还是被你这个无赖的脏嘴搞得更臭了。加拿大是个文明国度,培养不出象你这样的下流下贱的奴才,快别污蔑人家了。你真是蠢到了极点,你一张嘴问候别人老母,你的尾巴就露出来了,你还装蒜?!你的五毛技术真是低级!!

  • 14

    A man died of "severe brain injury" in Chinese detention house days ago. The polices alleged that he got hurted while playing "hide-and-seek" with his roommates!!!!!!:
    http://news.163.com/09/0213/17/5223AD3500011229.html

  • 15

    John:
    You are getting too emotional here. It is not good for your health.
    Want to know how I think about you.
    Watch this:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prtsIbjTjQc
    I am sick and tired of you posting negative comment above Chinese people and Chinese culture. I met a lot of Chinese from all over the world in Canada. The majority of them are very decent people, volunteering to help in charity events. There are 1.3 billions Chinese in the mainland and millions more living oversea. How can they be all bad? If Chinese culture is corrupted as your described, how can it survive for 4000 years. People throwing punches like you, should learn how to take it too.
    Enjoy this music:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9yYI-upjw4
    Conscienceinchina:
    This is an English blog, I have no idea what you are talking about.
    Next time, use google translation. Do it as a favor for the rest of us. This is courtesy that we should all obliged to before posting here.

  • 16

    Read this and see what you think of Chinese officials:
    http://www.xj.xinhuanet.com/2009-02/18/content_15729341.htm

    sing666 is surely one of them, the way it behaved. Name calling and smearing is all it can do.

  • 17

    sing666: sounds like you can't handle the truth and facts and can't think for yourself. I can't help with these genetic deficiencies. Talk to your parents about it.

  • 18

    哈哈哈哈!这窝囊废明知自己在挨骂(其实我并未指名道姓),还要硬着头皮说自己不懂中文,真可怜!看来五毛也不是那么好当的,得有挨骂的本领,脸皮要够厚,要把自己不当人看。“加拿大”五毛,我要告诉你,只要你一天还在这里捣乱耍赖,我就一直这样骂下去,看你能撑到什么时候!!

  • 19

    "If Chinese culture is corrupted as your described, how can it survive for 4000 years."

    This is another myth Chinese were fed since birth. The problem is: all nations, whether they are from Africa, Asia, Europe, Americas - all of they have way more than 4000 years of culture. Chinese just didn't know about them and assumed that Chinese has an older culture.

    The fact is, China didn't exist until 1911. The country before that was not called China at all, for thousands of years. Secondly, Chinese only has 3000 years of history as most real Chinese historians admit, if "Chinese" starts with Huangdi. Before Huangdi, there were only tribes. Many tribes. Not a state, and certainly not a country. And the people living along the Huanghe weren't called Chinese either, in any language. The 4000 (or, 5000, as the real Chinese text books insist) is a lie.

    So, China did not survive 4000 years. Since all cultures are older than 5000 years, survival for 4000 years don't mean Chinese culture is not bad either, not that I agree that Chinese culture is bad. But if you insist ...

  • 20

    [...] us, CNN, Shanghai Daily, Time’s The China Blog and like four dozen other publications picked up the story as truth. Can you blame us? It had all [...]

  • 21

    [...] repeated the tall tale, so did Time Magazine, as did the New York Daily News. Then AOL News repeated the CNN copy, as did a host of other [...]

  • 22

    [...] repeated the tall tale, so did Time Magazine, as did the New York Daily News. Then AOL News repeated the CNN copy, as did a host of other [...]

  • 23

    [...] repeated the tall tale, so did Time Magazine, as did the New York Daily News. Then AOL News repeated the CNN copy, as did a host of other [...]

  • 24

    [...] was running almost word for word in the global press. The New York Daily News reported it as did Time magazine. It seems Mr Fan had been inspired by talent competitions he had seen on TV. The uniform [...]

  • 25

    http://alanspicer.wordpress.com/2009/07/09/chinese-businessman-who-could-no-longer-afford-five-mistresses-held-a-competition-to-decide-which-one-to-keep/

    Thats an xfactor type show if ive ever heard it! Simon Cowell struts onto the screen and announces his here to find the best Mistress!

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