Chinese Exam Prep CEO Apologizes for Calling Civil Service Candidates 'Lazy'

According to a report by the Central News Agency (CNA), the CEO of a Chinese civil service exam preparation company lost his temper during a speech at Renmin University of China, describing civil service exam candidates as 'lazy' and later publicly apologized. Reports from Chinese mainland and Hong Kong media on Thursday said the company is Fenbi Technology Co., Ltd., which primarily provides training for civil service exams, public institution recruitment exams, and teacher recruitment exams. Zhang Xiaolong, founder and CEO of Fenbi Technology, was invited to give a lecture at the School of Philosophy at Renmin University of China on June 3. The topic was supposed to be about taking the civil service exam (commonly known as 'kaogong' in China), but he changed it to share his experience on 'using AI to trade US stocks'. During the lecture, apparently upset by the students' lackluster response, Zhang lost his temper, cursed the students for several minutes, and said, 'You deserve to be unemployed,' and that taking the civil service exam is 'lazy and waiting to die'. He then left the venue in anger. Zhang issued a public apology letter on June 4. The Hong Kong Ming Pao Daily News, citing mainland media, reported that on the evening of the incident, Shi Decai, the Party Secretary of the School of Philosophy at Renmin University, posted on Xiaohongshu (RED), saying, 'As the event organizer, the School of Philosophy will definitely give the students an explanation.' An insider at Renmin University said the university is still handling the matter. Online information shows that after graduating with a bachelor's degree, Zhang was admitted to the Department of Philosophy at Sun Yat-sen University. In 2006, attracted by the lucrative training income, he dropped out of his doctoral program and became a lecturer in the civil service exam training industry. In 2015, he founded Beijing Fenbi Lantian Technology Co., Ltd., which was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2023. Affected by his remarks, the company's stock price fell by 10% on June 4, currently trading at HKD 0.61.