Netizens hold that tiger by its fraudulent tail

By Pan Bei'er  |   2008-7-3  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

Illustration by Zhou Tao More in cartoon gallery

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AFTER eight months of foot-dragging investigation, the controversial South China tiger photographs have been declared to be fakes by Shaanxi Provincial government officials.

Zhou Zhenglong, a farmer who allegedly fabricated the photographs, is under arrest on suspicion of fraud. Thirteen local officials, including two forestry bureau deputy chiefs and the information chief, have been sacked.

The confirmation on Sunday is welcome, but why did it take so long to confirm what everybody knew and Netizens made abundantly clear?

Could it possibly have been a desire to boost tourism by claiming that the extinct tiger was indeed alive and well and burning bright in the forests of Shaanxi Province?

No more foot-dragging. Further vigorous investigation is required into the motives and movers in the tiger case. Who stood to benefit?

Only then will the "paper tiger" case be unfolded for public view and put to rest. There are lessons to be learned.

Zhou was said to have plotted the entire hoax on his own, seeking a 20,000 yuan (US$2,915) reward.

Netizens were outraged and unrelenting in their accusations and demonstrations that the photo was clearly fake and doctored.

Many people reasonably doubt that an ordinary farmer like Zhou would be capable of choreographing such a hoax by himself, saying he was just a tool manipulated from behind the scenes, and now he's a scapegoat.

Hao Jingsong, a legal studies scholar and one of the most famous "paper tiger fighters," called the hoax an organized group activity, according to the Oriental Morning Post.

He based his reasoning on the following questions: "How can a farmer who cannot even handle a camera well shoot so many photos? What gave him so much confidence as to lie for more than eight months?" Definitive conclusions cannot yet be drawn, but a probe is imperative.

The furor surrounding the whole "paper tiger" saga says a lot about government credibility.