Editor's Note:

Recently, the arrest of renowned Chinese military vocalist Li Shuangjiang's son Li Tianyi on suspicion of gang rape has sparked huge attention. In September 2011, Li Tianyi was sentenced to a juvenile facility for a one-year detention after assaulting a couple on a Beijing street in an apparent road-rage incident. He then warned witnesses not to call the police. Li Shuangjiang admitted in earlier interviews that he and his wife had lavished care on their son. He once proudly said, "My son has positive energy and never did anything wrong." Why is Li Tianyi attracting so huge attention? And what kind of lessons can we draw from this tragedy? Two commentators contributed their thoughts to the Global Times.

Law has room for more tolerance and understanding

Lian Peng, a freelance columnist based in Handan, Hebei Province

If Li Tianyi was not the son of famous PLA singer Li Shuangjiang, netizens wouldn't have reacted like this. Gang rapes naturally spark public outrage. But more importantly, people are venting their anger at the social injustice and privilege present in this case.

On the one hand, the case mirrors social hatred toward officials and the rich. These deeply rooted social conflicts are worth pondering. There are too many cases in which the privileged are seen to fly above the law. People worry that if they do not strongly condemn this action, Li Tianyi might receive a lighter sentence or even escape legal punishment altogether.

But on the other hand, the country's social sense of law is still weak or warped. Li Tianyi, born in 1996, is still underage. He must have the protection of his privacy afforded him by the law. It's hard to restrict netizens, but news media outlets should be more cautious and professional.

According to the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors, in crimes involving underage perpetrators, personal information of the underage suspects should not be disclosed to the public, and their photos should not be directly published.

It's also worth debating how to best punish juvenile offenders like Li Tianyi. Li was kept in a detention center for one year after he physically assaulted a couple in 2011. It's doubtful whether this is proper.

Underage offenders should receive community service and treatment. Meanwhile, they should be organized to participate in group rehab activities. This not only allows young offenders to study, without removing them from society, but also avoids them being tainted with other vices in adult prison.

All in all, the spirit of the law needs to be comprehensively strengthened in Chinese society. This is the fundamental cure for various social conflicts and diseases at the moment.

If social order and justice are not done and crimes are not punished, the psychology of the people will be gradually distorted and social conflicts and hatred will spread. But the very first step is to practically restore the dignity of the law. Under this circumstance, a spirit of social tolerance, sympathy and understanding can return.

When kids go so far astray, look to the parents for why

"Wolf Dad" Xiao Baiyou, based in Guangzhou, encourages beating children to help them get into a good college

I'm a big fan of Li Shuangjiang, famous for his revolutionary songs. I do not know the details of how the Li couple educated their son. But there is one detail I gleaned from media reports. After Li Tianyi was reported to have been part of a gang rape, his mother begged media to forgive and show more mercy to her son.

This is beyond understanding. She was actually harming her son by doing this.

In traditional China, if a son was a criminal suspect, his mother was supposed to bring him to court and ask for strict punishment. And she herself might also beg to be punished along with him.

Li's mother should let the court judge the deeds of her son, rather than stand up to beg for tolerance.

Doting on a child is not equal to showing real care to the child. Doting parents treat their kids as adorable pets, to be excessively cared for, cosseted, and protected with everything provided.

It has become almost common to hear of the children of officials, rich people or popular stars breaking the law.

This largely relates to poor family education. Because of unreasonable parental discipline, they go astray. Some among these groups despise the law, because they believe they are privileged and can easily escape from legal punishment.

Yang Lan, a famous hostess at CCTV, has been lambasted online after she posted on Weibo, saying that being kept in a detention center might be too harsh a punishment for Li Tianyi, and that he might lose hope for his future.

Yang has already deleted this post, and apologized online that no one should be above the law. She accepts that she should focus more on the victim, rather than question the penalty that Li Tianyi might receive.

I respect Yang as a hostess but when I saw her initial Weibo post, I couldn't agree either. Li Tianyi could still correct his actions after the terrible mistake he has reportedly made.

I can responsibly say that if I was allowed to teach Li Tianyi from today on, I would return the Li couple a well-disciplined son who would have learned from his crimes.

Voxpop

@yangjinglillian

There have been great differences in public reactions if you compare the shocking gang rape case in December in Delhi to the latest Li Tianyi case in China.

In the Delhi case, one of the six criminals was underage. The whole country was shocked by the case, and public opinion focused on women's rights and social security.

But it's even more shocking to see that after the Beijing gang rape, the Chinese public joked about how Li Tianyi, one of the suspects, was poorly educated by his famous father dad.  The victim is almost forgotten.

@zhengshua

Many parents would like to send their kids to study abroad. The Li couple followed suit. This is actually risky.

A child living alone in a foreign country, without sufficient linguistic skills, is very vulnerable to picking up bad habits.

Certainly, there are many children who study diligently and foster a strong sense of self-independence while they live alone abroad.

But we are hearing about an increasing number of cases in which the second generation of rich people just stick together when they stay abroad, learning nothing but a bunch of pernicious habits.

@tianchenshangdebaoping

Li Tianyi still has a long way to go. It's pivotal at this stage to guide his life in a meaningful direction. His parents shouldn't give up on him.

@shuijinggugudemima

I have sympathy for both the girl who was raped and Li Tianyi. Do not excessively target Li and make him special just because of dirty elements in public power. He should receive punishment from the law. But he also deserves to be told how to live in a meaningful way in the future.