Harvard speech by Chinese graduate exposes class disillusionment at home

Controversy surrounding a speech given by a Chinese Harvard graduate reflects the Chinese public’s “disillusionment” with elite education and “anger at class rigidity”, according to a Chinese academic.

Last week, Yurong “Luanna” Jiang, a Chinese Harvard University graduate, delivered a controversial speech amid the ongoing clash between the university and the White House, and uncertainty over United States–China relations.

Jiang was the first Chinese woman selected as the student speaker at a Harvard graduation ceremony.

While her success was initially praised by the Chinese media, it soon drew criticism from social media users who questioned whether her “privileged” family background truly represented the broader Chinese student population.

As the controversy escalates, some academics and commentators have begun to examine how it reflects the Chinese public’s growing disillusionment with elite education.

Yuan Changgeng, an anthropologist at Yunnan University who has long studied changes in social attitudes, said that in recent years “China’s social classes have become increasingly rigid and tensions between them have been on the rise”.

He added that within the past two years, few of the “elites” active on Chinese social media had been held up to public scrutiny without having flaws in their experience or morals exposed.

“People are increasingly recognising that competition in education is ultimately a competition of family finances and social capital [connections and resources],” said Yuan, referring to the fact that children from wealthy families in China often have access to more educational resources, both at home and abroad.

  

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