Death of a Family Member Just Before the College Entrance Exam... Chinese Parents Did Not Inform Their Exam-Taking Child

Parents Hid Sister's Death for a Month
Revealed After Exams... Younger Sibling Expresses Shock
China's Gaokao Exam Sees 12.9 Million Candidates This Year

In China, controversy is growing after it was revealed that a parent hid the death of their eldest daughter to avoid disturbing the younger daughter's university exam preparations. It is reported that the parents concealed the eldest daughter's death for an entire month.

Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported this news on the 17th (local time), citing a local media outlet in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.

According to SCMP, the younger daughter, Ms. A, recently completed the Chinese university entrance exam and returned home. At that time, her parents informed her for the first time that her elder sister had died in a traffic accident a month earlier. Shocked, Ms. A told the local media, "It's as if my sister never existed," expressing her feelings at the time.

Before taking the university exam, Ms. A mainly stayed in the school dormitory. At that time, it was about a month before the Gaokao, the Chinese version of the college entrance examination.

The appearance of students taking the Chinese version of the college entrance exam, 'Gaokao,' last year. [Image source=Yonhap News]

When Ms. A asked about her sister's recent situation, her mother replied, "She was dispatched to another city for work," and "She is expected to get a promotion soon."

However, it was revealed that this was a lie, made out of concern that the sister's death would negatively affect Ms. A's Gaokao results. The parents hid the sister's death from their daughter for about a month.

As this news spread, controversy erupted among Chinese netizens. Some sympathized with Ms. A's parents, saying, "This is an important exam that will determine the younger sister's life," "I think the parents made a wise choice," and "The mother who lied must have been heartbroken as well."

On the other hand, there were critical opinions such as, "She lost the chance to say goodbye to a precious family member forever," and "Even if you fail the Gaokao, you can retake it later, right?"

Recently, China's popular social networking service (SNS) Weibo conducted an online survey asking, "Should bad news be hidden from Gaokao examinees?" About 100,000 netizens participated, with 43% answering "It should be told," and 37% saying "It should be withheld until after the exam."

The Gaokao, the Chinese version of the college entrance exam, is regarded as the most important exam in the lives of Chinese students. This year's exam was held from the 7th to the 9th. Approximately 12.9 million students took the Gaokao this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.