Living on the 32nd floor of an apartment building, in a city with 20 - 25 million other people, gets you thinking about urbanization and its impact on a society. A short topical story read in Shanghai Daily to illustrate one kind of impact: anonymity.
Wu Ying, born in 1981 grew up in a village, daughter to a farmer. She dropped out of middle school to help her aunt in her beauty saloon. Very fast, she became wealthy. Allegedly by selling sheep placenta extract, an anti aging serum. In 2005 she became owner of a company, with a registered capital of over 300 million yuan. There was much speculation about what caused her sudden affluence. Only 25 years old, she was the 6th wealthiest woman in China. She squandered ruthlessly, donated millions to charities. Wu Ying became a much discussed sensation.
As more and more people got suspicious about the source of her income, some journalists ventured into her family's village. People there remembered how she always had a weakness for petty theft. Could it be that she hadn't changed at all?
Not long after she was tried and arrested for illegal fundraising, and later for financial fraud. Just last week, after much political ado, her death penalty was upheld with a two-year reprieve, which most likely means life-sentence.
Back to her village, where if one persons knows something, sooner than later, all the villagers will hear of it too. This is different in the city. It is much easier to live an anonymous life and create a new identity. There are many more examples of pretend-to-be top officials who accept bribes, live the high life, are famous and respected. It takes much longer before their crimes are revealed.
Moral: The child is the father of man, we should always be aware of someone's past.
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