Puneet Varma (Editor)

Ding Jinhao engraving scandal

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Traditional Chinese
  
丁錦昊事件

Hanyu Pinyin
  
Dīng Jǐnhào Shìjìan

Simplified Chinese
  
丁锦昊到此一游

Simplified Chinese
  
丁锦昊事件

Traditional Chinese
  
丁錦昊到此一游

Hanyu Pinyin
  
Dīng Jǐnhào Dàocǐ Yìyóu

The Ding Jinhao Vandalism scandal (Chinese: 丁锦昊事件; pinyin: Dīng Jǐnhào Shìjìan), was a scandal revolving around Ding Jinhao (Chinese: 丁锦昊; pinyin: Dīng Jǐnhào), a then 15-year-old Chinese boy who scratched the Chinese characters "Ding Jinhao was here" (Chinese: 丁锦昊到此一游; pinyin: Dīng Jǐnhào Dàocǐ Yìyóu) on an engraving at the Luxor Temple in Egypt.

Contents

Media response

On May 24, 2013, a verified Weibo user, Mr.Shen, posted a picture of the vandalised engraving with the letters "Ding Jinhao was here" etched in Chinese at the Luxor Temple in Luxor, Egypt. As of May 25, 2013, there have been 11,000 comments and 83,000 reposts on the post.

On May 25, 2013, a Chinese netizen unearthed personal information pertaining to Ding Jinhao through the Human flesh search engine and posted it to Weibo. On the same day, the Modern Express reported that Ding's parents publicly apologized on Weibo, and that Ding Jinhao was in tears over the incident.

On May 26, the website of Ding's elementary school was hacked by vigilante netizens and defaced with a pop-up window on the website mimicking Ding Jinhao's vandalism. Ding Jinhao's engraving at the temple site was removed on the same day.

Government response

  • Hong Lei, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, responded to the scandal by calling on Chinese citizens travelling abroad to comply with local laws and regulations and to behave in a civil manner.
  • The China National Tourism Administration also responded to the incident by posting a reminder on its official site imploring Chinese tourists intending to travel to domestic and overseas destinations to behave in a civil manner, and included a list of tips that would help them to do so.
  • According to the Egyptian Protection of cultural relics law, the posting of advertisements and posters at the heritage, writing, engraving, or smudging of cultural relics at heritage sites is prohibited and punishable by a jail term of three months up to a year in prison, and fine of 100 to 500 Egyptian pounds (US$14–71).

    References

    Ding Jinhao engraving scandal Wikipedia