Yan Xuejing's live broadcast a while ago should have some impression on those who swipe their mobile phones, right? When she was chatting with her fans, she held a cup in her hand and casually said: "My son Lin Aofei was in school back then and signed up for the Xinjiang class of Chinese opera. The class had low scores and it was easy to get into." As soon as the words floated out of the screen, the comment area exploded – netizens with sharp eyes and quick hands instantly picked out Lin Aofei's information: Han nationality, Beijing registered permanent residence, high school in Beijing Bayi School, never even touched Xinjiang! The Xinjiang class of China National Theater is clearly a special program for Xinjiang ethnic minority candidates, and the application requirements are very strict: they must have Xinjiang household registration, be of an ethnic minority, and must have completed three years of high school in Xinjiang. Isn't this "stealing other people's welfare"?
I originally thought that this matter would be slapped in the face by the authorities, but within a few days, a big news broke out in the Performance Department of China National Theater: Chen Gang, the former party branch secretary and director, voluntarily surrendered! It is currently under joint investigation by the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Team of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission in the Ministry of Education and the Henan Xuchang Municipal Supervision Commission. What's the coincidence? Lin Aofei was studying in the 2012 general undergraduate class of drama, film and television performance in the Department of Chinese Opera and Performance, and Chen Gang was the leader of this department. He also taught core courses such as the basics and techniques of drama, film and television performance – which completely matched Lin Aofei's major.
Do you think this is a coincidence? There was a big fuss over the "Xinjiang Class" a while ago, and the head of the performance department surrendered. But let’s not rush to make assumptions. China National Theater issued a statement at that time to clarify: in 2012, it did not recruit Xinjiang classes at all. Lin Aofei is a student from Beijing. She took the professional examinations of China Theaters and the national college entrance examination normally. Her scores meet the admission standards for ordinary undergraduates in Beijing. She was admitted to the ordinary classes of the acting department and has nothing to do with the Xinjiang class. Then why did Yan Xuejing say that? I specifically looked for a replay of the live broadcast to watch, and her tone really didn't sound like she was lying – she was just chatting with her fans. She seemed to think that "Xinjiang's class scores were low" was a public matter, but I ended up stepping on the wrong side of it.
Actually, public figures really need to be careful when speaking. Yan Xuejing originally wanted to show off her son's success in school, but by saying "Xinjiang class", he directly pushed himself to the forefront. At that time, there were all kinds of things in the comment area: some said, "Isn't this taking advantage of ethnic minorities? It's too much." Some said, "How did China Drama recruit the Xinjiang class? There can't be anything fishy about it, right?" Some people picked up Lin Aofei's college entrance examination score and said, "Even if the score is low, Han people can't apply for the Xinjiang class. Is Yan Xuejing uneducated or intentional?"
But before the heat on this matter dissipated, something happened to Chen Gang, which inevitably made people wonder: Are these two things related? But the official hasn't said anything yet, so we can't make random guesses – the Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision all investigates based on evidence. If there is really a connection, it will be found out sooner or later; if it doesn't matter, just spreading rumors is just a rumor. After all, Lin Aofei's admission information has been made public, which is a normal process. There is no direct connection with Chen Gang's matter for the time being.
Let’s talk about Chen Gang. He is an old man from the Chinese Opera Performance Department. He stayed at the school to teach in 1999, and later rose to the position of Secretary and Director of the Party Branch. He taught for almost 20 years and taught many students. He has also won many awards. For example, the "Thinking and Practical Research on Chinese Drama Style" project he led in 2020 received late-stage funding for philosophy and social science research from the Ministry of Education. This project has a lot of funding. If there is a real problem, the whereabouts of this funding will definitely be a breakthrough.
When things go wrong for university leaders, they generally can't do the same thing: taking benefits when recruiting students, misappropriating project funds for other purposes, and making small moves in personnel titles. As the head of the department, Chen Gang definitely has admission quotas. For example, he has a say in the annual school entrance examination quota for the performance department. He can also make decisions on the application for various scientific research projects and the use of funds. If something went wrong in these places, it would be no small matter.
In fact, when everyone pays attention to these two things, they are essentially concerned about fairness. Admissions to art schools are inherently more flexible than those for ordinary majors, and school examinations account for a larger proportion. If someone uses backdoors and does tricks, it would be too unfair to those candidates who have worked hard to practice their majors and take cultural courses. For example, every year, art students complain about "the secret behind school exams", but this time Chen Gang surrenders, maybe he can find out something real.
Whether it was a slip of the tongue or something else, Yan Xuejing’s incident is a reminder to everyone: Don’t take special projects seriously. They are given by the state to people in need, not for you to take “shortcuts”. For example, the Xinjiang class and the Tibet class are all designed to support talents in minority areas. If they are abused, it will chill everyone's heart.
Chen Gang's matter is still under investigation, and there is no more official news, so let's not make wild guesses and just wait for the report. However, this incident also put Zhongxi on the spot – just a while ago, the misunderstanding about the "Xinjiang class" was clarified, but something happened to the department director, and there was no one left in this operation. But it’s okay to clean up the school. Colleges and universities should be clean, and those who violate disciplines and laws cannot be allowed to ruin the atmosphere.
Reference materials: Central Academy of Drama's "Statement on the Online Report on Actor Yan Moujing's Son Lin Moufei's Study in the Xinjiang Class of our Academy", the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission's Discipline Inspection and Supervision Team in the Ministry of Education's Notice on Chen Gang's Acceptance of Disciplinary Review and Supervisory Investigation
