Editor's note: the following article was translated and edited from an article in Modern Express. The results of a netizen survey conducted by ifeng.com were also used. It discusses netizens' reaction to the grilling a young contestant got from the presenter when she appeared on a job-seeking show.

On January 13th, a video clip from "Only You" (非你莫属), the popular job-seeking programme on Tianjin TV, became a hot topic across the Chinese social media websites. In the clip, aptly titled "Overseas Female Student Fights With Host" (海归女对掐主持人), Liu Lili (刘俐俐), 24-years old, comes on stage for her job interview with the host, former CCTV moderator Zhang Shaogang (张绍刚), while a guest panel of potential employers watches on, ultimately deciding whether or not to hire her. Liu Lili, who spent the last three years studying in New Zealand, went on the programme to find a job working as a magazine editor. During the job interview, things quickly spiral out of control, dissolving into a series of heated exchanges between the host and Liu Lili, which ultimately lead to the unanimous decision by the guest panel not to hire her. Following the posting of the clip, netizens were quick to chime in, voicing their disapproval of host Zhang Shaogang's (and the guest panel) behaviour, as well as some who thought that Liu Lili had acted rather arrogantly. As of January 16th, there were already more than two million Weibo posts discussing the topic.

"They were clearly attacking me"

Liu Lili's appearance on "Only You" started like any other: a shot of her backstage with a voice-over montage of her humbly speaking about her qualifications; her walk out to the performance stage, where she then gave a brief, albeit nervous, introduction, including her hometown, age and interests. Moments later, Zhang Shaogang makes his way to the stage, welcomes Liu Lili to the programme and asks her his first interview question: "What's your favourite work by Shakespeare?" (She had mentioned that she likes Shakespeare in her introduction). Liu Lili responds that she likes his use of "Heroic Couplets", which is, granted, a slightly strange answer. Unclear of what that was, Zhang Shaogang and the guest panel continue asking her supplementary questions about what she meant by her response. At one point, one of the members of the guest panel asks her if she meant "sonnet", to which Liu Lili responds in English, no, it's kind of like a..." before realising she is speaking English. During this brief exchange, both Zhang Shaogang and the group of judges quickly develop a sort-of ferocious "finish her" look in their eyes, only worsened by the fact that Liu Lili, instead of acting like a proper 24-year old Chinese woman applying for a job, insists on justifying her original answer with such choice responses as: "Not a lot of people know about Shakespeare's use of heroic couplets."

Moments later, the awkwardness of the initial dialogue is significantly increased when Zhang Shaogang, moving on to a new question, asks Liu Lili why she decided to move back to China to look for a job after living in New Zealand for so long. Liu Lili's response was: "I lived in New Zealand for three years, and China has changed so much during that time. If I didn't move back, I'd become stupid." Interrupting her, Zhang Shaogang immediately jumps on the offensive again, announcing that he didn't understand why she would use the word "China" (中国) instead of a more colloquial saying like "us here" (我们这儿) –implying perhaps that Liu Lili no longer considered herself "Chinese". Liu Lili, not wishing to back down, responded that the stage is a formal place where formal language, such as "China", should be used, adding that this was the reason that she addressed him using the honorific "Nin" (您) instead of the common "Ni" (你). After this not-so-subtle dig on Zhang Shaogang, he comments: "Why do I get such a cold feeling from talking with you?"

The exchange described above took place in only the first minute or so of the posted video clip, and many more awkward exchanges with Zhang Shaogang followed. In a backstage interview, after being turned down by the guest panel of employers, fighting back tears, Liu Lili said: "They were clearly attacking me."

Chinese netizens voice their support for Liu Lili

After watching the video clip, a majority of Netizens concluded that Zhang Shaogang's responses were rude and that he was intolerant (likely as a result of being made to look like a fool by a young quick-witted girl). Netizen "Min Yuan" said: "What we just saw was a group of condescending people who forced their personal values and so-called principals of conduct on a young girl with not a lot of life experience. When that girl did not accept what they had to say or had difficulty falling into line with them, they pounced on her." Several celebrities also voiced their support for Liu Lili on Weibo, and there was even one person that wrote: "I'd welcome her to join our company". But not everyone came to the defence of Liu Lili. Host Hu Ziwei (胡紫微) wrote on her Weibo: "Liu Lili clearly isn't free of blame here. When you're being interviewed for a job position, you must be able to practice self-restraint." Hu Ziwei further noted that programmes such as "Only You" intentionally create these kinds of intense environments (as they are good for ratings): "There's no doubt that Zhang Shaogang's 'aggressive' personality was developed out by the programme's producers. However, that being said, there were also clearly instances during this interview where he muddled the difference between 'aggressive' and 'vindictive'."

Netizen Survey

After the video clip went viral, ifeng.com posted a survey on their website to assess the opinions of Chinese netizens. As of January 18th, well over 2 million netizens had already taken part in the following survey: 

1) What do you think about Zhang Shaogang attacking Liu Lili on the "Only You" programme?
- Oppose Liu Lili: Her reliance on "returning from overseas" was arrogant; she has a superiority complex.	23.3%	595,938 Votes
- Support Liu Lili: The language of the host was overly sharp. He didn't take into consideration the impression that it would leave on the guest panel. He should apologise.	66.1%	1,689,009 Votes
- Support the host and guest panel: When participating in a programme of this nature, job seekers should adapt themselves.	2.8%	70,700 Votes
- Oppose the host and guest panel: They use their status as "public figures" to "lecture" these job seekers	7.8%	198,205 Votes
2) What do you think evoked this attack on Liu Lili?
- Liu Lili's superiority complex, her extreme responses and her arrogant expressions.	23.5%	599,774 Votes
- The host and the guest panel's lack of respect for her.	69.3%	1,769,607 Votes
- People in HR have a superiority complex; their domineering attitude keeps them far removed when dealing with job seekers.	6.4%	162,442 Votes
- The programme's producers didn't try to control the situation; they failed to stop it before it got out of hand.	0.9%	22,029 Votes
3) After watching this programme, would you consider taking part in a similar job-seeking programme?
- Yes. Finding a job through a TV programme is a novel idea.	3.2%	81,501 Votes
- Yes. It's easy to become famous through these kinds of programmes.	0.4%	10,318 Votes
- No. These programmes are shallow, and are full of discrimination and biases.	73.3%	1,873,109 Votes
- No. These programmes rely on people embarrassing themselves to drum up better ratings.	23.1%	588,924 Votes

Source: kb.dsqq.cn, ifeng.com, youku.com (video)

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Keywords: Chinese TV show “Only You” “fei ni mo shu” Zhang Shaogang criticism overseas student Liu Lili job seeking in China Chinese netizen survey