Net users indifferent to truth

A young woman in Wuhan, Hubei province, has become somewhat of a celebrity on the Internet after her photographs in skimpy dresses were posted online. She is referred to as the "scantily-clad lady", and it seems that nobody cares about who she really is and how she feels as long as her photographs "entertain" them, says an article in Changjiang Daily. Excerpts:

The photographs of the woman, called "scantily-clad lady in Honggangcheng", because she often shows up at a mall named Honggangcheng in Wuhan, have been posted on the Internet by people who are least bothered about her real name, family background or her mental state. This is condemnable.

It, however, appears that the woman is mentally challenged because the personal information she has provided to the public is totally different from what her mother said. Experts are of the opinion that she appears to be suffering from communication disorder and cannot control her thought or action.

If she is indeed mentally challenged, people have no right to use her photographs for "entertainment" or blame her for being scantily dressed.

And if experts are right, people who have posted her photographs online and are having fun at her expense have done her a great disservice and deserve to be punished for that.

We need to introspect and be responsible for what we do, or else our actions could set a bad precedent for society, especially young people. It is important to set a good example for the younger generation to follow and save them from moral decline.

(China Daily 09/12/2012 page9)