Think twice before posting your thoughts on the Internet.
Parry Liu, a foreign student from Beijing, China currently studying at the National University of Singapore (NUS), on Tuesday published a controversial comment regarding Singaporean students.
On the popular Chinese social networking platform Ren Ren, Parry Liu posted in Chinese, "There is a lesson we can learn from the recent Singapore vs China soccer match -- and we can apply that into our (university) final exam. No matter what, do not give up, because there is always a Singaporean student who will perform worse than us."
Original Chinese text:
刘沛宇： "国足告诉我们一个道理，可以沿用到我们的final。不管什么时候都不要放弃希望。有新加坡人给我们垫底呢。"
His remark attracted hundreds of comments from netizens on forums and social networking sites, most of them negative although some users agreed with him.
27-year-old business manager Leroy Lim said it is very irresponsible for PRC students like Liu to make such a remark about Singaporean students, especially when the university final exam is around the corner.
"It's inappropriate for him to publish such a comment on a social networking site, particularly when the final exam is nearing. Furthermore, his Chinese peers might perceive we Singaporeans as inferior and academically-disinclined, as compared to the students from China," he told Yahoo! Singapore.
However, a few locals think what Parry said was rather accurate, and that we Singaporeans should accept that fact.
"This is hard truth, and indeed the high-achieving students are usually from China and few from local," said Ng Wei Jun, a 23-year-old engineering student from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
In a later post published last night, Parry said he regretted posting such a foolish remark.
"I agree. My sensitive remark has caused major dissatisfactions among the local community, and I sincerely apologise," he published on his Ren Ren blog.
Parry Liu has since deactivated his Ren Ren and Facebook account. Yahoo! Singapore has reached out to him, but he declined to comment.
