What does the downfall of Zhang Biqing, a self-proclaimed doctor, say about China’s credulous elite?
Perhaps that the nation’s 'ideological vanguard’ have been overtaken by the masses
The downfall of Zhang Biqing, owner of the now famous rooftop villa, certainly raised a lot of questions in the minds of Beijingers after they read Wednesday’s morning papers.
How could the self-declared "national medical treasure" maintain a two-storey villa on top of a residential compound in Beijing for years without questions being asked by the city government?, asked the Beijing News on its front-page.
How could he practice medicine without a licence? How could he get away with allegedly beating up a neighbour who complained about the structure? And what is his affiliation with a para-medical clinic chain?
Zhang’s story has long gone political. The villa on top of a residential compound has become a metaphor for the immunity of China’s modern-day Rasputins, exploiting the ill-defined boundaries of Chinese traditional medicine.
Necromancers have embarrassed Communist Party cadres as some of them seem to continue to be receptive to the “feudal practises” the party meant to ostracise. Like Mao’s belief in his qi, or spirit, documented in Doctor Li Zhisui’s memoirs, recent revelations on micro-blogs reminded the Chinese public of its leaders’ continuing penchant for wizardry interpretations of Chinese medicine.
Just last month, Qigong master Wang Lin’s "Wang Palace" in Jiangxi and his blatantly illegal hunting rifles appeared online along with photos with national leaders and celebrities, including Hong Kong’s former chief executive Donald Tsang, politburo member Jia Qinglin and relatives of former president Hu Jintao. Revelations about his dubious skills led to Wang’s hasty departure to Hong Kong.