Ding Jinhao engraving scandal

Ding Jinhao engraving scandal
Traditional Chinese	丁錦昊事件
Simplified Chinese	丁锦昊事件
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Dīng Jǐnhào Shìjìan
"Ding Jinhao was here"
Traditional Chinese	丁錦昊到此一游
Simplified Chinese	丁锦昊到此一游
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Dīng Jǐnhào Dàocǐ Yìyóu

The Ding Jinhao Vandalism scandal (Chinese: 丁锦昊事件; pinyin: Dīng Jǐnhào Shìjìan), was a scandal revolving around Ding Jinhao (Chinese: 丁锦昊; pinyin: Dīng Jǐnhào), a then 15-year-old Chinese boy who scratched the Chinese characters "Ding Jinhao was here" (Chinese: 丁锦昊到此一游; pinyin: Dīng Jǐnhào Dàocǐ Yìyóu) on an engraving at the Luxor Temple in Egypt.^{[1] [2][3]}

Media response

On May 24, 2013, a verified Weibo user, Mr.Shen, posted a picture of the vandalised engraving with the letters "Ding Jinhao was here" etched in Chinese at the Luxor Temple in Luxor, Egypt. As of May 25, 2013, there have been 11,000 comments and 83,000 reposts on the post.^[4]

On May 25, 2013, a Chinese netizen unearthed personal information pertaining to Ding Jinhao through the Human flesh search engine and posted it to Weibo.^[5] On the same day, the Modern Express reported that Ding's parents publicly apologized on Weibo, and that Ding Jinhao was in tears over the incident.^[6]

On May 26, the website of Ding's elementary school was hacked by vigilante netizens and defaced with a pop-up window on the website mimicking Ding Jinhao's vandalism. Ding Jinhao's engraving at the temple site was removed on the same day.^[7]

Government response

• Hong Lei, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, responded to the scandal by calling on Chinese citizens travelling abroad to comply with local laws and regulations and to behave in a civil manner.^[8]
• The China National Tourism Administration also responded to the incident by posting a reminder on its official site imploring Chinese tourists intending to travel to domestic and overseas destinations to behave in a civil manner, and included a list of tips that would help them to do so.^[9]

Related law

According to the Egyptian Protection of cultural relics law, the posting of advertisements and posters at the heritage, writing, engraving, or smudging of cultural relics at heritage sites is prohibited and punishable by a jail term of three months up to a year in prison, and fine of 100 to 500 Egyptian pounds (US$14–71).^[10]

See also

• Vandalism
• Luxor Temple

References

1. APD News
2. "找不到網頁 - 香港新浪". Retrieved 10 July 2016.
3. "埃及神廟 驚見簡體字「到此一遊」 - 大紀元". 27 May 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
4. ""丁锦昊"遭人肉搜索 网民哀叹:以后怎么有脸去埃及 - 新华国际 - 新华网". Retrieved 10 July 2016.
5. "埃及3000年神庙浮雕现"到此一游" 部分中国游客感羞愧 - 新华国际 - 新华网". Retrieved 10 July 2016.
6. "Ding's parents apologise publicly". Retrieved 10 July 2016.
7. "埃及神庙浮雕中文涂鸦已清除 - 新闻中心 - 新华网". Retrieved 10 July 2016.
8. "Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on citizens travelling abroad to comply with local laws and regulations, Sing Pao". Retrieved 10 July 2016.
9. 程琦 (2013-05-29). "查名网站人肉出"丁锦昊"？记者调查:网站查询信息真实". Sh.eastday.com. Retrieved 2016-07-10.
10. Protection of cultural relics law of Egypt