Opinion | When authorities in drought-prone Chinese region only took in defectors for student place fraud

Last week, I wrote about the conviction of Singapore’s former transport minister, S. Iswaran, for improperly obtaining valuables, a case that shocked Singaporeans, who, like Hong Kongers, do not tolerate corruption in government and in public service.

A case involving corruption in China in the late 18th century was so big that it shocked the entire nation at a time when public venality had been the norm for centuries and where an honest bureaucrat was a rare breed.

At the time, the Gansu province in northwest China it was subject to natural disasters, especially droughts. In 1774, under the pretext of alleviating the poverty of the Gansu population and filling the dwindling provincial coffers and granaries, Lergiyen, the governor-general of Gansu and Shaanxi provinces, requested the central government to implement a “student for purchase” policy. in Gansu.

This policy granted university places to men who did not need to pass any entrance exams, in recognition of their contributions in grain or money to the State.

Gansu is an arid region with large expanses of desert. Photo: Costfoto/NurPhoto

Even without the necessary academic qualifications or skills, these “purchase students” could enjoy the status and privileges of a student at the national university, and the opportunities and networks that a place at the august institution provided.