On 12 May, Fan Meizhong was teaching literature to a class of high school students when the earthquake hit. He shouted, "Earthquake!" and then ran out of the classroom, down the stairs, and out onto the field, leaving his students behind.
Fan was pilloried online. Netizens called him "the most shameless teacher ever," partly for his cowardly abandonment of his students, but also for a post about the incident he put up on the Tianya BBS, which many critics saw as a pitiful attempt to justify a warped sense of morality. Fan confessed that his instinct for self-preservation meant that his daughter was the only person he'd ever think of sacrificing himself for — he'd even have left his mother behind.
Netizens called him "Runner Fan" (范跑跑), a nickname that even his boss used when talking to the media. Qing Guangya, principal of the privately-run Guangya School in Dujiangyan, is facing pressure to fire Fan for being a poor model for the students.
Here is what he told the Yangtse Evening Post:
"In the earthquake, our school's classrooms were not harmed at all, and none of the 800-plus students and faculty was injured. But Fan Meizhong, mocked online as 'Runner Fan,' was an exception. His emotional injuries were self-inflicted."
"I don't know why he wrote those words on his blog that so enraged everyone. Actually, at the time he didn't say anything like that. When the earthquake hit, 'Runner Fan' just shouted 'Earthquake!' and was the first one out of the classroom and onto the field." Qing Guangya recalled that he staggered out of his office later, and after he reached the field, he discovered that students and teachers from every class were crouching on the ground. So he said, "Do a head-count." He remembers quite clearly that "Runner Fan" carefully counted the students who had been mocking him just then. After determining that there were no deaths or injuries, Qing organized the students and teachers to divert their attention and dispel their anxiety. The younger grades sang songs; classes that had been going on continued with review, reading, memorization, and discussions; upper levels continued their activities. During all of this, "Runner Fan" was just as cooperative.
This reporter noticed that Qing was obviously conflicted when discussing "Runner Fan." "Giving a shout and then running off when the earthquake hit: I think that's just a normal human reaction. But he really shouldn't have said those things afterward. The stuff he said was really out of line!"
The newspaper quotes a "knowledgeable source" who said that "everyone, including all levels of the state education administration, have been talking to Qing Guangya hoping that he will fire Fan Meizhong. On one occasion, Qing said candidly that 'Runner Fan' was mistaken in what he said, but his actions were not wrong..."