The same month Xinhua refuted rumors about Dong Cunrui who lifted a package of explosives with his left hand and pulled the fuse with his right to demolish an enemy blockhouse, which helped the liberation army progress during a battle of the war of Liberation. Some falsely claimed the 19-year-old's heroic deed was pure imagination because nobody actually saw it.
Some experts blame the questioning of war martyrs' authenticity on China's failed hero or role model education system in which martyrs were portrayed as spotless, self-sacrificing saints, while others blame insufficient regulation of the Internet for false accusations about respected heroes.