Li Xiaolin (left) in an interview with Ta Kung Pao. (Ta Kung Pao)
Ta Kung Pao, a Hong Kong newspaper funded by the Chinese Communist Party, published an interview with China Power International Development CEO Li Xiaolin yesterday. Li is the daughter of former prime minister Li Peng, known by some as the “Butcher of Beijing” for his part in the brutal crackdown on the Tiananmen protests in June 1989. Li Xiaolin is no darling of the Chinese public, either: the designer outfit she wore to the 2012 National People’s Congress drew sharp criticism.
Netizens are now irked by Ms. Li’s statement to Ta Kung Pao that her biggest regret in life is having only one child. Her father told her that as national leaders, they must diligently uphold the law. “So my generation is a generation that has sacrificed” (所以我们这代人也是付出的一代). She also told the paper that when her grandparents’ graves were moved to Hainan Province, her parents would not let her go with them to pay her respects. “After I graduated from college, I spent my first month’s wages on a trip to Hainan to sweep my grandparents’ graves” (所以我大学毕业后赚了第一个月的工资真的就是去海南给爷爷奶奶扫墓).
Named one of the most powerful women in business by Fortune, ordinary Chinese readers have little sympathy for Li’s story of struggle. From Weibo:
苦逼锅: My biggest regret is that my dad isn’t a state leader; he’s merely a family head.
我最大的遗憾是我爹不是国家领导人，勉强算个家领导人。
numbyouth: Shen Jilan: “I speak for the people”; Guo Meimei: “I speak for the Red Cross”; Nie Haifen: “I speak for the rule of law”; Lei Zhengfu: “I speak for love”; Liu Zhijun: “I speak for clean governance”; Ji Xuguang: “I speak for justice”; Li Xiaolin: “I speak for [individual] ability”; Dai Xu: “I speak for the military”; chengguan: “I speak for harmony”; Fang Binxing: “I speak for freaking Internet freedom.”
申纪兰，我为人民带盐。郭美美，我为红会带盐。聂海芬，我为法制代言。雷征富，我为爱情带盐。刘志军，我为廉洁带盐。纪许光，我为正义带盐。李小琳，我为能力代言。戴旭，我为军方代言。城管，我为和谐带盐。方滨兴，我特么的为互联网自由带盐。
程圣中: The accumaltion of information, process of writing, and dissemination of this article reminds us of a line from a poem by Tsangyang Gyatso: “How many secrets must a person hide before he can live his life skillfully?”
这篇稿件的采访增量、撰文过程及传播特点，让人不禁想起仓央嘉措的诗句：一个人需要隐藏多少秘密才能巧妙地度过一生。
孔维浩_: The country’s entire electric grid belongs to your family and here you are talking about transparency, credibility, sacrifice, and how “the bottom beam will be crooked if the the top beam isn’t straight.” Huh, no one is the most shameless; it’s just that some are more shameless than others.
整个中国的电力系统都是你家的，在这里谈透明度和公信力，谈付出，谈上梁要正，下梁才不歪。呵呵，没有最不要脸的，只有更不要脸的。
优选小麦: How many college students did Butcher Li kill? One day this blood debt will be repaid.
李屠夫当年杀了多少大学生，这些血债他们总有一天要还。
评论员李铁: I truly object to advocates of family planning arguing that mouths to feed are burdens. But certain people are indeed burdens. Or more frankly: tumors?
我很反对计划生育的鼓吹者，把人口当成是负担的说法。但是，对于某些人，他们确实是负担。或者说得直白些：毒瘤？
林滤山: You’ve sacrificed so much and gotten so little in return!
付出太多了，几乎没什么回报！
Read more about Li Xiaolin from CDT.
Via CDT Chinese. Translation by Mengyu Dong.
