Blogocratic Demeritocacy

This is one of hundreds of 60-second radio spots created by the Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) for Kansas Public Radio (KPR). The purpose of this outreach program is to introduce the people of Kansas to the culture and current issues of East Asia.Broadcast Transcript: For a thousand years, China was a bureaucratic meritocracy. Men from any walk of life could become high ranking officials if they did well on the Imperial examination. Failure meant dishonor, disgrace and poverty. In modern China, the Imperial exam has morphed into The National Examination for College Entrance. So much is at stake that cheating is rampant. Students buy answers, fake results and pay proxy test takers. Recently, an official was arrested for stealing the superior exam results of a village girl and passing them off as his daughter's. The scandal has become a hot topic on China's websites where bloggers are giving the official black marks for the injustice. One might say that, for this bureaucrat at least, it's become a blogocratic demeritocracy. #ceas #china #hacke