Chinese media has recently published a report entitled "99.5% of Public Surveyed Has Encountered Deception in One Form or Another, Shouldn't This Raise Concerns?" The news has attracted public attention and contention from left and right. Some people have since pointed out that behind problems related to the public "encountering deception", lies a sore habit where the public "encourages fakes" or even "participate in deceiving". Last week, China Youth Daily (Social Survey Center) again conducted an online poll about "prevalent deception" in the country in which 2,485 people participated. 78.8% agree that "deception" has become a sore habit of Chinese society and that its people should rise up and profess "zero tolerance" for acts of fraud.

72.9% Surveyed Admit to Having Deceived

The polls indicated that 72.9% of those surveyed admitted to having deceived at one time or another; 35.6% of those have admitted to knowingly participate in "deceptive acts" and the other 36.3% admit to inadvertently taking part.

"When it comes to faking and deceiving, you can't just look at it as an isolated problem. It's got to do with the entire moral backbone of society," leader of the legal consultation team with China Consumers' Association, Qiu Baochang is quoted as saying. Qiu further commented that many people in today's society think that success means material possessions and social status; they would do anything in the pursuit of monetary gain and climbing the social ranks – desperately taking advantage of whatever opportunities happened by their way and even going so far as to breaking the law. For example, Qiu explained, many women think that having Louis Vuitton bags signifies privileged social status, but because most of them can't afford the real deal on their salaries, they often opt to buy counterfeit bags to satisfy their egos.

Why has deception and faking become such a common phenomenon? 60.2% of those surveyed thought that the reason has to do with the "overarching perception that success equals wealth"; 60.1% thought it was simply because "there was just too much to be gained from faking and deceiving"; 56.0% thought that it is due to the fact that "deceivers would often get off too easy"; 49.8% decided that "public figures and celebrities in society have corrupted everyone with their bad examples"; and another 44.6% have said that "it is because people are superficial and deception seems to be the easiest way to achieve pride".

"In today's world and society, success and wealth are much more valued than some shaky morals.  People have very little self-discipline when it comes to reining in their greed," Professor Yu Hai, a sociologist with Fudan University has pointed out. He explained further that China has traditionally been a mature society where one would risk losing their support system if they dare lie, but in today's more open and highly mobile society, deception and lies are more hidden and less self-destructive – thus making it harder for people to stick by their principles when challenged with temptation that promise immediate gain.

65.8% Surveyed Put Up with Deception Because of "Fear that Reporting it Won't Do Any Good"

So how do the public generally react to those that deceive? In the survey, 62.4% thought that "there's nothing much they could do"; 51.6% thought that they "hate people that deceive"; 32.6% decided that they've "grown accustomed to the phenomenon"; 15.7% said that they would "actively fight and discourage those that deceive"; 4.3% thought that they "don't much care".

In the survey conducted on September 7th, 61.7% people chose to "bear with deception". And when asked about their reasoning for choosing to put up with people that deceive, 65.8% said that they thought "reporting the act won't do any good"; 56.7% indicated that they thought "it was not worth the trouble to report because people that deceive are often let off the hook easy"; 49.8% responded that they "fear reprisal for speaking up"; 47.9% thought that they "wouldn't want to get in trouble themselves"; and 36.6% stated that they thought "it doesn't concern them, so don't care".

Tang Jun 唐骏

Opinion Poll Agrees that Deception Impairs Morals of Society

The online poll has also asked those surveyed to select what they thought would be the negative repercussions of deception running rampant in society. Results show that the most selected answer is "it cripples social values and impairs morals" (78.8%); ranked second for negative effects is "it undermines social laws and regulations" (67.1%); ranked third is "it is a sore habit that will take its toll and become the norm" (63.9%); and lastly "it will reflect negatively on the authority of the government" (58.8%).

"The teenagers and people coming of age are most hurt by outright deception. Since iconic success figures like Tang Jun have even proven to be 'fake', who then can these young people look up to as a role model and for guidance?" Professor Yu wonders. He continued to stress the importance of having "zero tolerance" for those that blatantly deceive and said that it is not enough to rely on individual conscience to help with self-discipline. Yu thinks that China needs some sort of management system for keeping tabs on the integrity of people and society.

"Public institutions must show that they manage their policies in accordance with professed integrity and allotted responsibilities. In this way, they will serve as a template and guide for showing how society is expected to conduct itself when it comes to being credible and trustworthy," Professor Yu continues. He further stated that when it comes to building or re-building a system of trust in society, group behavior and expectations of others go a long way in affecting the conscience and morals of an individual. It is only after a mature system is built for promoting integrity and truthfulness in society and for society, that progress can truly begin and deception and fraud can be weeded out.
 

Related links
Falsified Receipts are Nothing New in China: Welcome Mr. Hurd
How to Avoid Employment Scams in China
13 Common Scams and Hot to Avoid Them

Warning：The use of any news and articles published on eChinacities.com without written permission from eChinacities.com constitutes copyright infringement, and legal action can be taken.

Keywords: fraud opinion polls China fraud China China youth daily deception survey Deception China