Guo Meimei Responds to Red Cross Controversy – Part 3

Last time, we learned that Guo Meimei’s mother is a financial genius and that Wang Jun, Guo Meimei’s godfather/boyfriend, could not have possibly been corrupt. Oh, and Professor Lang really likes to talk.

A copy on YouTube:

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The Inquiry

Guo Meimei: Because when we were coming back from Shenzhen to Beijing, that day when I got off the plane, reporters were taking—

Lang Xianping: Right, we saw this. We have all the information here today. We have a whole stack, can you see? So our information—

Lang makes a point to flip through the stack of paper on his lap, to show that he’s done his homework. Here, Guo ACTUALLY HAS TO INTERRUPT HIM in order to say something.

Guo: Because the second and third day after we returned… The second day the police requested we go in for an investigation.

Lang: Right, when was this? When you came back to Beijing from Shenzhen?

Guo: Right. We were in the police station for ten hours answering questions. The third day—we were recording our confession—and they were asking us all kinds of questions related to this—

Mother: Inquiry.

Guo: Right, inquiry.

Lang: You two went together?

Mother: She doesn’t understand. It was an inquiry.

Lang: You can’t say “recording a confession,” you two are not criminals. [Laughs]

Mother: She doesn’t understand.

Lang: She’s still young. She’s said a lot of things that are quite funny.

Lang: So, you went with her?

Mother: Correct.

Lang: So you spent two days, each day you recorded ten hours or so.

Mother: Right, it was an inquiry. The first day was ten hours, the second was eleven hours or so.

Lang: So what you said during the inquiry is the exactly the same as what you’re telling me now?

Guo and her mother: Yes, exactly the same.

Mama’s Got a Brand New Bag

Now, onto the question of her many Hermes bags, which were featured in some pictures on her microblog.

Lang: So, on your microblog you also posted a lot of pictures. You have a lot of Hermes bags, a lot of designer bags, right?

Guo: I want to clarify something…

Mother: I bought those bags.

Lang: Where did you buy them?

Mother: I bought them in Shenzhen.

Lang: You bought them in Luohu, right?

Mother: Yes.

Lang: In Luohu Department store, right? All the bags there are fake, right?

Guo: Yeah, only two are real, the rest are fake.

Lang: Which two are real?

Guo: The green one is real, the other is orange.

Lang: Both are Hermes? Who gave them to you?

Guo: One of them my mom bought. And the green one…

Lang: You bought a real one. You gave her a real one, right?

Mother: I wouldn’t say gave. It’s mine, but she often uses my bags.

Lang: What color is this real bag?

Guo and her Mother: Orange.

Lang: The orange one is real, and you [Guo Meimei] also use it?

Mother: Right, she uses mine.

Lang: Who gave you the green one?

Guo: My father gave it to me. My godfather.

Mother: Because I watch the news, and the’re all saying a bunch of stuff that isn’t true.

Lang: Right, and it keeps getting uglier. The more they say the worse it gets.

Mother: Right, it’s all lies. They say she… anyway, in reality all the human flesh search engine stuff is not true. A lot of it isn’t true.

A strange thing happens here. There is a cut to a camera which zooms in on Guo as she starts to cry. Guo dabs at her nose and rubs the discharge on her hand as if it were moisturizer. Because the cut is so jarring and not continuous, it might have caused some viewers to assume that the crying was an act.

Lang: You didn’t let her come out [to talk to the media], what was your thought process? Did you want to lie low or what?

Mother:I don’t know, I thought this stuff would blow over in a day or two…

Lang: A lot of things blow over in a day or two.

Mother: Right, I didn’t anticipate that after more than a month there would still be people insulting [her]. When I saw it I was very angry.

Lang: But you two just decided to not make any clarification?

Mother: No, but later on I thought that maybe we still had to come out—we had to come out and make things clear. So that’s why we’re here today.

[Guo’s mother and Lang laugh]

During this exchange Guo is crying and finally her mother fishes out a tissue and gives it to her. Then there is an abrupt cut, probably made in the editing room in the interest of time.

The Apology

Guo: I always say the wrong thing; it’s been like that my whole life. Either I stay out of trouble, or if I get into trouble—

Lang: You get into big trouble.

Guo: I get into grave trouble. I didn’t do it on purpose, I didn’t know.

Lang: Although I believe that in your whole life you’ve never caused this much of a stir. You certainly have gotten into a lot of trouble. With respect to this situation, which has itself caused so many negative effects, can you tell our audience sincerely and honestly what you’re feeling inside right now?

Guo: I want to say that I am truly very sorry.

Lang: Why?

Guo: I know I’m vain, and tweet that kind of stuff that many common people might not be able to accept. They wonder why her life is so good while they have to work so hard. Actually, I’m deep down a pretty kind person. I wasn’t like this before, maybe girls…

Lang: What does, “wasn’t like this before” mean? What were you like before?

Guo: I wasn’t this extravagant before.

Lang: How long ago was “before”?

Guo: Before I came to Beijing, really. Before I turned 18. I went to Beijing when I was 18.

Lang: Why did you become vain only after arriving in Beijing?

Guo: I don’t know if it was because I got older and encountered society or what. Before, at home, I would conserve electricity and water. If there were a lot of lights on in the house, I would tell my mom to turn off all the lights, tell her not to waste electricity. I said I was afraid that in the future, my children, or my children’s children, wouldn’t have electricity. Because electricity is generated by water, right?

Lang: That isn’t important, that isn’t important. [Laughs]

Guo: Because the earth has a water shortage right?

Lang: That isn’t important. Let’s not get off topic, otherwise netizens will insult you. Continue, continue.

Guo: So after I went to Beijing, like I went to the Beijing Film Academy for a one-year training course. Afterward, I started acting and met some people in society, even I noticed that I was becoming…

Lang: Mrs. Guo, you two live together. Why do you think she underwent this transformation after going to Beijing? She might not be able to explain it clearly, right? Could it be because of the people you met? Did the film school have a somewhat negative effect on you?

Guo: I wouldn’t say “negative.”

Lang: Uh oh, I brought up film school. That’s going to cause a stir.

Guo: Better not say that.

Guo says this as a joke and both she and Lang chuckle. The tone of the interview has changed so much and you can see Guo’s guard come down. Too bad it’s almost over.

Guo: After I entered society, everyone was very… girls liked to compete with each other.

Lang: What kind of friends do you have? Where did you make these friends? Why would they like competition?

Guo: Where did I make these friends… Actually, if you make me say right now exactly which friends, of course I can’t remember.

Lang: Whatever you do, do not say their names.

Mother: No, she usually just hangs out with her classmates.

Lang: Classmates from film school, right?

Mother: Right.

Lang: About your daughter’s transformation, how do you usually educate her?

Mother: Transformation… Actually, I probably spoiled her from when she was little. Because I’m a single-parent; she doesn’t have a father. I always wanted to give her a little more love…

Lang: Speak candidly. I can understand this. Our audience will understand as well. You are a single-parent family. [Abrupt cut] Well, what do you want to do next?

Mother: Probably get into the entertainment industry.

Lang: Do you have any special plans?

Guo: Not at the moment.

Lang: Wait till things quiet down first?

Guo: I wanted to use Professor Lang’s show in order to clarify some things first.

Lang: Right, the clarifications you made today are very important. Through this opportunity… Let me talk about my personal views. I think the biggest harm to this society is the whole “Business General Manager of the Red Cross” affair.

Guo: I know.

Lang: A rock created a tidal wave. All of the Red Cross’ operational details, thanks to you, have been exposed to the entire country. Of course, this is also a chance for the Red Cross to reform itself. Indeed, if you receive donations and such from us common people, you must have an explanation—you have to take some responsibility. But it doesn’t matter what we say, even though you yourself made an honest mistake—of course I can criticize you for doing something wrong—but with regards to the Red Cross… This time, including the release of donation platform information, especially regarding future reform of China’s charities, or privatization itself, you certainly have been the biggest biggest impetus. Actually, I believe that we don’t want the Red Cross to regress, and we also don’t want the Red Cross to collapse. This is definitely not what we want. We want is for the Red Cross to take charge of allocating donations, manage projects well, decentralize power, and be fair, equitable, and transparent. This ought to be one positive outcome of the “Guo Meimei Incident”.

Of course, at the end of our program I have to say, I cannot help you confirm all that you have said. I believe our audience’s eyes are keen. As long as you have made things clear, I believe our friends in the audience will give you the most fair assessment. This is also this interview’s most important purpose. But more importantly, I hope that through the “Guo Meimei Incident” our Red Cross can better satisfy the expectations of their patrons, better satisfy the expectations of our society, alright? Thank you for watching, we’ll see you same time next week!

Comments from ifeng:

寻觅的人:

It’s very obvious this is slander against those who are just. It is a counteroffensive from the corrupt.

huangbole:

There’s a quote that goes something like this: “Power does not come from guns or bullets; power comes from lies. If you expose someone else’s lies, then you are challenging their power.” My fellow countrymen, only if you wipe your own eyes to see clearly can you prevent yourself from continually being deceived by others.

欣欣勿自私:

Is there really no one who will fight for the people?

lsg601:

I support Professor Lang. Don’t disbelieve everything.

xwyy123:

I hope they don’t censor this, I want to watch it again.

bao7881169:

There are still some people who don’t understand that Guo is a piece of stinky dog shit. Whoever touches her stinks too.

爱在东方:

Guo Meimei, only by being low-key, only by admitting wrongdoing will you receive netizens’ sympathy. Please don’t try to sensationalize yourself again.

Comments from Tianya:

沙发专座:

Mmm, the tears came a little early. Just because you’re acting doesn’t mean you can start crying prematurely; it wasn’t the right part. So fake.

越野车越玩:

The Guo Meimei incident continues to ferment~~~~~A shanzhai Red Cross falls! And now a Lang Xianping falls too~~~Great job Guo MM~~~~Please continue~!

byff:

They [Guo Meimei and her mother] are just tools. How many people in the world do not end up becoming tools? Let’s see how the Red Cross decides to end this.

zly503:

One Guo Meimei doesn’t matter. Even if there are ten or a hundred of her, it doesn’t matter. The important thing is how this organization called the Red Cross decides to reform and go on. Don’t let it be led astray. Also, poor Professor Lang, cherish your reputation.

又白说了:

Mistress Guo, you really think your mom is a [Warren] Buffet Super Master Stock Goddess? A few ten-thousand yuan can earn a few million? This crafty Wang Jun is your ATM? The things you say are even faker than official news reports. You all can believe it if you want; either way, I won’t believe it!

qwaszx2200:

These days! The chengguan do the police’s job. Official cars do the public transit’s job. Mistresses do a spy’s/mole’s job. Netizens do a detective’s job. Microblogs do the media’s job. Godfathers do a boyfriend’s job!

Return to Part 1 and Part 2.