Photo Stories

Girl to sell her 1.5m-long hair to save mother

(Jongo)
Updated: 2007-05-10 16:08

A Guangxi journalist Xiong Qian, once famous for the "one-cent case," fell ill recently and a week ago her 17-year-old daughter A'zhen posted a letter asking for help on the Internet. The daughter announced that she was selling her 1.5-meter-long hair for RMB 20,000 (2598.74 USD) to raise money for her mother. However, the letter has roused great controversy and even scorn from some of China's internet users. Many are calling for the details of the mother's condition and assailing the veracity of the daughter's plea for help. The girl has since refused the request stating that her mother's ailment is gynecological and she has to protect her mother's privacy.

File photo of A'zhen who wishes to sell her hair for 20,000 yuan to pay for her mother's medication.

Bitter replies to the help letter

Many users response to the posting, "Long haired girl to sell hair to save her journalist mother," are quite surprising. The first reply reads, "The title is a little dramatic. Selling a hair braid? It's not like selling organs. Do you think you're great?" A person nicknamed Yantaishan replied skeptically, "What kind of braid is worth 20,000 RMB?" Another said: "Doesn't Xiong Qian have an adopted daughter. Just sell the daughter!" Among the hundreds of replies, only a few people have shown sympathy and most have replied ironically and resentfully.

Tianya Community chief: Poster to be treated with caution

According to the head of the Tianya Community, the online posting website, these kinds of help letters are posted everyday and it's hard to tell real incidents from fraudulent ones. One of the chiefs "Yuepaoyuekaixin" asked the poster to show the patient's medical record, but the poster, A'zhen's friend, said he couldn't offer the medical record and pictures since he's not there. Besides, the girl herself is also receiving an injection in hospital.

The chief wondered if the case was fraudulent, so he attached a warning notice at the end of the letter which reads, "The help letter was not posted by A'zhen herself but a journalist who interviewed her. I contacted the poster and asked for the patient's medical records but I didn't get a satisfactory answer. Netizens should treat this matter reasonably. Thanks!"

Veracity of the claim is verified

Wang Chengzhi, a businessman from Jiangsu has donated RMB 3,000 (389.91 USD) for Xiong Qian. He said that the reason why A'zhen didn't disclose the medical records is that her mother has contracted a gynecological disease while being divorced.

"When I saw the letter, I also had my doubts. I dialed the number the poster left in the letter and talked with the patient's doctor over phone to verify the claim. It turns out to be true. I have read Xiong Qian's reports and I admire her talents. I feel bad about the humiliating replies. These people lack basic honesty and virtue," he said.