Woman's suicide lie prompts drama on TV show, Internet
By Xu Chi |
January 4, 2012, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THOUSANDS of netizens who have mourned, shed tears or otherwise showed sympathy for a woman claiming to have killed herself over mistress issues are now stunned to see the victim alive a week later, sitting in a TV show to apologize for her fake "death."
"I let my relatives tell everyone that I'm dead, and I planned to never show up again. I thought it was all over, but it never occurred to me that it is not the end, but just a crazy start," the woman, Xiao Yanqin, said on a Beijing TV talk show program on Monday night.
Xiao became China's latest online sensation last week when she claimed to end her life after her husband fell in love with a mistress just months after their wedding. She left a 10,000-word suicide note online that blamed her husband and his mistress, while her relatives confirmed that she hanged herself on December 25, her wedding anniversary.
'Whole world collapsing'
"My whole world is collapsing," Xiao said in her note, which was published online by her sister. It immediately stirred up a huge public discussion and condemnation of the husband and his mistress.
Under public pressure, Xiao's husband, Jiang Hong, published an apology on his blog on Saturday, saying he was sorry but the incident had caused great damage to his life and family and that of Yu Jia, who was believed to be the mistress.
"The dead is dead, but those who are still living have lost their jobs and are worried about their personal safety," Jiang said in the announcement.
Jiang lost his job due to a "human search engine," which refers to tracking down someone's identity by netizens using their human network when someone is in the spotlight. Private information about the husband and the mistress, including their names, photos, phone numbers, home and work addresses, were leaked throughout the Internet.
"After we divorced in November, Xiao hired the team to spit on my life in revenge," Jiang said in his blog. "She has won sympathy from the netizens and used them to attack me and Yu and our families."
After the woman suddenly showed up on TV on Monday night to admit that she let her relatives lie to everyone, some suspected the whole issue was a publicity stunt staged by the TV station for its new talk show program.
"It's probably the best drama that I have ever watched in 2011," said local resident Zhang Qian on her microblog on Weibo.com. "It was a tragedy and then turned into a comedy. But after that, what else can we believe on the Internet?"
Jiang, the woman's ex-husband, published another announcement on his blog after the TV show to "strongly condemn Xiao and the team behind her to make the stunt."
"I let my relatives tell everyone that I'm dead, and I planned to never show up again. I thought it was all over, but it never occurred to me that it is not the end, but just a crazy start," the woman, Xiao Yanqin, said on a Beijing TV talk show program on Monday night.
Xiao became China's latest online sensation last week when she claimed to end her life after her husband fell in love with a mistress just months after their wedding. She left a 10,000-word suicide note online that blamed her husband and his mistress, while her relatives confirmed that she hanged herself on December 25, her wedding anniversary.
'Whole world collapsing'
"My whole world is collapsing," Xiao said in her note, which was published online by her sister. It immediately stirred up a huge public discussion and condemnation of the husband and his mistress.
Under public pressure, Xiao's husband, Jiang Hong, published an apology on his blog on Saturday, saying he was sorry but the incident had caused great damage to his life and family and that of Yu Jia, who was believed to be the mistress.
"The dead is dead, but those who are still living have lost their jobs and are worried about their personal safety," Jiang said in the announcement.
Jiang lost his job due to a "human search engine," which refers to tracking down someone's identity by netizens using their human network when someone is in the spotlight. Private information about the husband and the mistress, including their names, photos, phone numbers, home and work addresses, were leaked throughout the Internet.
"After we divorced in November, Xiao hired the team to spit on my life in revenge," Jiang said in his blog. "She has won sympathy from the netizens and used them to attack me and Yu and our families."
After the woman suddenly showed up on TV on Monday night to admit that she let her relatives lie to everyone, some suspected the whole issue was a publicity stunt staged by the TV station for its new talk show program.
"It's probably the best drama that I have ever watched in 2011," said local resident Zhang Qian on her microblog on Weibo.com. "It was a tragedy and then turned into a comedy. But after that, what else can we believe on the Internet?"
Jiang, the woman's ex-husband, published another announcement on his blog after the TV show to "strongly condemn Xiao and the team behind her to make the stunt."
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