Something been bugging you? Go ahead and sing about it. That's the idea behind Complaints Choir - a concept that originated with two Finnish artists whereby people use song to voice dissatisfaction. The idea has caught on like wildfire, spreading across the globe to dozens of cities. In December, university student Wang Xiaomian, 19, got together with his friends and thought: 'It's time for the people of Guangzhou. Have complaints? Sing them out!'
What inspired you to create a Complaints Choir in Guangzhou?
Zhu Jiangang, a well-known professor of sociology and anthropology at Sun Yat-Sen University, in November launched a course on civil awareness for all university students in Guangzhou. I learned a lot from it and started to realise for the first time how important the right of citizenship was.
I became good friends with several others who attended the course. We all shared the belief that everyone - be they rich businessmen, grass-roots workers or students - should be able to get our concerns off our chest and make society better, fairer and more transparent.
But we felt most university students were not concerned about public issues and society. We started to look for interesting but powerful ways to express our opinions and encourage more people to take part in civil activities.
But we didn't want to take to the street to shout and wave placards. We were trying to make people care more about the city and the society, instead of fighting against authorities and their ideologies. We wanted a different way to speak out about public affairs. We found it in the Complaints Choir.
