Chinese billionaire apologizes for controversial remarks about women
Yu Minhong, founder of Chinese tutoring giant New Oriental Education and Technology Group, went to the All-China Women's Federation Tuesday and apologized for his controversial remarks that Chinese women’s depravity has brought the country down.
The 56-year-old billionaire raised a social-media firestorm of criticism after he said at an education summit in Shanghai on Sunday that it's women that determine whether the country is good or not, and that now "depraved" Chinese women have led to the "degeneration" of the whole country.
The sexist remarks soon put him under fire online and triggered criticism from organizations including the All-China Women's Federation and Beijing Women's Federation.
China Women’s News, mouthpiece of All-China Women's Federation, accepted his apology Wednesday and used a proverb, "a fault confessed is half redressed," as a response to it on the official microblog.
In his apology letter, Yu said he felt deeply rattled and remorseful after hearing criticism from the public and came to realize that his remarks regarding women were "extremely wrong."
"In fact, most (Chinese) women are working diligently and conscientiously and contributing to the happiness of families and development of the country," Yu wrote.
He promised to learn more about gender equality and create an enterprise culture where men and women are equal in New Oriental. He said he will also promote gender equality and the important role of women in economic and social development via the New Oriental platforms.
The group is the first Chinese educational institution to be listed in New York, with more than 26.6 million student enrollments and a market valuation of approximately US$14 billion.