How come he didn't shout "my father is Wooden Goh!"?
Here's a sample from China
"My Dad is Li Gang!" (Chinese: 我爸是李刚!; Pinyin: wǒ bà shì lǐ gāng) is a popular catchphrase used ironically among Chinese netizens to avoid responsibility. The phrase stems from a fatal hit and run incident that occured near Hebei University in Baoding, China, in which a drunk driver named Li Qiming yelled at his pursuers, "Go ahead, sue me if you dare. My dad is Li Gang!"[1], referring to the Deputy Director of Baoding Public Security Bureau.
As a result, any reference to "Li Gang" has become associated with acting recklessly above the law because of supposed connections to government officials. The "Li Gang incident," as it sometimes called, is also notable for being the subject of one of the most intense human flesh search engines ever conducted by Chinese netizens, among the likes of the Wang Jue (王珏) and Zhang Ya (张雅) episodes.
On October 16th, 2010, an intoxicated driver named Li Qiming (李启铭) drove a black Volkswagen sedan into Hebei University, hitting two girls who were rollerblading [2]. One girl, Chen Xiaofeng (陈晓凤), was sent flying while the other girl, Zhang Jingjing (张晶晶), had her leg broken [3]. Li Qiming drove past the victims and sped toward the campus gate to drop off his girlfriend before being intercepted by crowds of people and security guards [4][5]. Undeterred, he yelled at the guards, "Go ahead, sue me if you dare, my father is Li Gang!" before being taken away – referencing his father, deputy director of the Baoding City Public Security Bureau, Li Gang. Chen Xiaofeng died on October 17, 2010, and Zhang Jingjing's fractured leg was treated in a hospital [6].
It was not yet known who Li Gang exactly was at first, but Chinese netizens quickly figured out that Li Gang was the deputy director of the Baoding City Public Security Bureau [7]. Netizens also located Li Gang's five real estate properties, which exceeded the finances of a simple Deputy chief, evidence that Li Gang was involved in corrupt, illegal practices [8].
Netizens also found a lot of Li Qiming's personal information, and even posted pictures of him:
One of the interesting, and also controversial, findings that resulted from this search was that the Hebei University president was suspected of plagiarizing around 27,000 characters of his thesis from Wang Hongrui- an unintentional discovery resulting from the Li Gang search.
An epic "Li Gang" MOP thread was started on October 20, 2010, receiving over 3500 replies. The thread revolved around inserting the phrase, "My Dad is Li Gang!" into classic Chinese poetry, or making your own related poetry. The thread eventually devolved into simpler jokes about how having Li Gang as your father makes you invincible (typically in the form of a proverb).
Some of the earliest suspicions of censorship in this incident arose after witnesses from Hebei University suddenly started refusing to talk about the Li Gang incident. Some students later privately admitted that the University was issuing a gag order.
Realizing that the bad publicity of Li Gang's family was reflecting poorly on the Chinese government, Li Qiming and his family were shown apologizing on October 22, 2010, with both Li Qiming and Li Gang breaking down in tears. However, the nature of the incident (hit and run, expecting to be protected by his father's status), as well as the fact that the apology was shown on CCTV (a news program that is seen as an instrument of the government), caused netizens to become even more infuriated, claiming that the apology was something of "a show."
It was announced that Li Qiming, who had been detained by police, was arrested on October 24, 2010 [3]. No further interviews were allowed.
This very delicate situation (reaffirming the belief that corrupt officials are above the law) also prompted the Chinese Government (which has been humorously called The Ministry of Truth) to send instructions to Chinese media outlets. These instructions, which were leaked, are shown below:
On January 30, 2011, the final verdict on Li Qiming's sentence was announced; after pleading to vehicular manslaughter and drunk driving, he has been sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to pay 460,000 RMB (approximately $69,000) to Chen Xiaofeng's family and 91,000 RMB (approximately $13,800) to Zhang Jingjing [9].
Here's a sample from China
My Dad is Li Gang! (我爸是李刚!)
About
"My Dad is Li Gang!" (Chinese: 我爸是李刚!; Pinyin: wǒ bà shì lǐ gāng) is a popular catchphrase used ironically among Chinese netizens to avoid responsibility. The phrase stems from a fatal hit and run incident that occured near Hebei University in Baoding, China, in which a drunk driver named Li Qiming yelled at his pursuers, "Go ahead, sue me if you dare. My dad is Li Gang!"[1], referring to the Deputy Director of Baoding Public Security Bureau.
As a result, any reference to "Li Gang" has become associated with acting recklessly above the law because of supposed connections to government officials. The "Li Gang incident," as it sometimes called, is also notable for being the subject of one of the most intense human flesh search engines ever conducted by Chinese netizens, among the likes of the Wang Jue (王珏) and Zhang Ya (张雅) episodes.
The Incident
On October 16th, 2010, an intoxicated driver named Li Qiming (李启铭) drove a black Volkswagen sedan into Hebei University, hitting two girls who were rollerblading [2]. One girl, Chen Xiaofeng (陈晓凤), was sent flying while the other girl, Zhang Jingjing (张晶晶), had her leg broken [3]. Li Qiming drove past the victims and sped toward the campus gate to drop off his girlfriend before being intercepted by crowds of people and security guards [4][5]. Undeterred, he yelled at the guards, "Go ahead, sue me if you dare, my father is Li Gang!" before being taken away – referencing his father, deputy director of the Baoding City Public Security Bureau, Li Gang. Chen Xiaofeng died on October 17, 2010, and Zhang Jingjing's fractured leg was treated in a hospital [6].
Aftermath
The incident produced a lot of sympathy for Chen Xiaofeng's family, and outrage at Li Qiming:(Source: TheEpochTimes)
Human Flesh Search Engine
This story spread very quickly throughout the Chinese internet, and soon Chinese netizens deployed their infamous Human Flesh Search Engine to uncover information about Li Qiming and Li Gang. They called the search the "Official Second-Generation" (a reference to the "second generation" of Chinese wealthy people and officials).It was not yet known who Li Gang exactly was at first, but Chinese netizens quickly figured out that Li Gang was the deputy director of the Baoding City Public Security Bureau [7]. Netizens also located Li Gang's five real estate properties, which exceeded the finances of a simple Deputy chief, evidence that Li Gang was involved in corrupt, illegal practices [8].
Netizens also found a lot of Li Qiming's personal information, and even posted pictures of him:
One of the interesting, and also controversial, findings that resulted from this search was that the Hebei University president was suspected of plagiarizing around 27,000 characters of his thesis from Wang Hongrui- an unintentional discovery resulting from the Li Gang search.
"My Dad is Li Gang!"
An epic "Li Gang" MOP thread was started on October 20, 2010, receiving over 3500 replies. The thread revolved around inserting the phrase, "My Dad is Li Gang!" into classic Chinese poetry, or making your own related poetry. The thread eventually devolved into simpler jokes about how having Li Gang as your father makes you invincible (typically in the form of a proverb).
Censorship of the Incident
Chinese netizens were determined to publicize the incident, evidenced by their efforts to spread the story to other internet users despite censorship by the Chinese government.Some of the earliest suspicions of censorship in this incident arose after witnesses from Hebei University suddenly started refusing to talk about the Li Gang incident. Some students later privately admitted that the University was issuing a gag order.
Realizing that the bad publicity of Li Gang's family was reflecting poorly on the Chinese government, Li Qiming and his family were shown apologizing on October 22, 2010, with both Li Qiming and Li Gang breaking down in tears. However, the nature of the incident (hit and run, expecting to be protected by his father's status), as well as the fact that the apology was shown on CCTV (a news program that is seen as an instrument of the government), caused netizens to become even more infuriated, claiming that the apology was something of "a show."
It was announced that Li Qiming, who had been detained by police, was arrested on October 24, 2010 [3]. No further interviews were allowed.
This very delicate situation (reaffirming the belief that corrupt officials are above the law) also prompted the Chinese Government (which has been humorously called The Ministry of Truth) to send instructions to Chinese media outlets. These instructions, which were leaked, are shown below:
(Source: China Digital Times)
On January 30, 2011, the final verdict on Li Qiming's sentence was announced; after pleading to vehicular manslaughter and drunk driving, he has been sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to pay 460,000 RMB (approximately $69,000) to Chen Xiaofeng's family and 91,000 RMB (approximately $13,800) to Zhang Jingjing [9].
