Nightmares for Young Girls in China: Increasing Cases of School Teachers Raping Students

In China, teaching has always been regarded as a highly respectable and honorable profession. However, in recent years, the number of teachers who rape and harass young students has increased, thus tarnishing that image. On Jan 1, 2005, the New York Times reported that an elementary school teacher, Li Guang, in Xinji, Gansu raped 26 students, the oldest being 14. In 2003, the Chinese Ministry of Education reported 10 cases in which teachers from multiple provinces raped young students. In June, 2007, a middle school teacher in Tongwei, Gansu was executed for raping 18 young female students. The increasing frequency of such cases reflects the shift in moral values from traditional Chinese culture to Chinese Communist Party culture.