{"id":670,"date":"2023-10-24T03:58:52","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T19:58:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/2023\/10\/24\/dilemma-deepens-as-cage-fighters-unwilling-to-go-home\/"},"modified":"2024-06-07T01:58:03","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T17:58:03","slug":"dilemma-deepens-as-cage-fighters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/dilemma-deepens-as-cage-fighters\/","title":{"rendered":"Dilemma Deepens As Cage Fighters Unwilling To Go Home"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote><p>The destiny of a group of underage cage fighters from the poverty-stricken Liangshan region in southwest China&#8217;s Sichuan Province has attracted great attention and stirred up hot debate among Chinese netizens.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The destiny of a group of underage cage <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/jobs\">fighters<\/a> from the poverty-stricken Liangshan region in southwest China&#8217;s Sichuan Province has attracted great attention and stirred up hot debate among Chinese netizens.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 599px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/FsYnijuOXf8fBcp9dzbAlPkbTjHJ?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" alt=\"Cage Fighters\" width=\"589\" height=\"315\" title=\"\"><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cage Fighters<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_73 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/dilemma-deepens-as-cage-fighters\/#Photo_Internet\" title=\"Photo: Internet\">Photo: Internet<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/dilemma-deepens-as-cage-fighters\/#Photo_Internet-2\" title=\"Photo: Internet\">Photo: Internet<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/dilemma-deepens-as-cage-fighters\/#Screenshot_of_Tencent_Video\" title=\"Screenshot of Tencent Video\">Screenshot of Tencent Video<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/dilemma-deepens-as-cage-fighters\/#Photo_cgtncom\" title=\"Photo: cgtn.com\">Photo: cgtn.com<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/dilemma-deepens-as-cage-fighters\/#i\" title=\"\u00a0\">\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/dilemma-deepens-as-cage-fighters\/#Photo_cgtncom-2\" title=\"Photo: cgtn.com\">Photo: cgtn.com<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/dilemma-deepens-as-cage-fighters\/#Photo_Internet-3\" title=\"Photo: Internet\">Photo: Internet<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/dilemma-deepens-as-cage-fighters\/#Photo_cgtncom-3\" title=\"Photo: cgtn.com\">Photo: cgtn.com<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/dilemma-deepens-as-cage-fighters\/#Children_living_in_Liangshan_Photo_Xinhua\" title=\"Children living in Liangshan. Photo: Xinhua\">Children living in Liangshan. Photo: Xinhua<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/dilemma-deepens-as-cage-fighters\/#Children_in_a_remote_area_in_Liangshan_region_Photo_Xinhua\" title=\"Children in a remote area in Liangshan region. Photo: Xinhua\">Children in a remote area in Liangshan region. Photo: Xinhua<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/dilemma-deepens-as-cage-fighters\/#A_local_school_in_Liangshan_Photo_Xinhua\" title=\"A local school in Liangshan. Photo: Xinhua\">A local school in Liangshan. Photo: Xinhua<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h5><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Photo_Internet\"><\/span>Photo: Internet<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<hr \/>\n<p>On July 20, China\u2019s online video-sharing platform, Pear Video, streamed a six-minute-long documentary of two 14-year-old mixed martial artists (MMA), both orphaned, training and fighting for an MMA club named En Bo in the provincial capital city Chengdu.<\/p>\n<p>At the club, children enjoyed free food and <a href=\"https:\/\/dictionary.cambridge.org\/dictionary\/english\/accommodation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">accommodation<\/a> as if being taken into an orphanage, but they also attended intensive training sessions and were captured being sent to participate in commercial activities and underground fightings.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/Fqz8ltyoq1Urk0oxfI3CBxrgVH-3?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" alt=\"b.png\" width=\"589\" height=\"421.85135135135135\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/FkDjBSq5XXj7WpLEaUeD2_xO68Po?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" alt=\"d.png\" width=\"589\" height=\"536.0753623188406\" title=\"\">Photo: Internet<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>The video went viral online, and millions of netizens showed mixed reactions: Some condemning the club for exploiting poor, orphaned children while others <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/thesaurus\/expressing\" class=\"broken_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">expressing<\/a> support to the children pursuing their dream as future King of the Ring.<\/p>\n<p>Offline, in reality, police in Chengdu has launched an investigation on the club, and authorities of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture have urged legal guardians of 17 boys from the prefecture to send the children back to regular school for compulsory education, China National Radio (CNR) reports.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/FlYmCVABXWrb22FXmZZz5rS_KBBN?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" alt=\"C.png\" width=\"589\" height=\"530.2678062678062\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<h5><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Photo_Internet-2\"><\/span><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/Fjv6o2c6WejSIdG82ab2AvCnkeBs?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" alt=\"Internet3.png\" width=\"589\" height=\"406.83505154639175\" title=\"\">Photo: Internet<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<hr \/>\n<p>The boys, however, are seen unwilling to return home in a series of featured videos released on Tencent Video, another popular Chinese video-sharing platform.<\/p>\n<p>In one of the videos published on Wednesday, a boy was seen forced to leave a fingerprint on a waiver acknowledging the acceptance of leaving the club, while shedding tears and bidding farewell to his coach in remorse.<\/p>\n<h5><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Screenshot_of_Tencent_Video\"><\/span><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/FjKHwtShjudPj2MNFaTaGaVkRGZb?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" alt=\"news.cgtn.com3.png\" width=\"589\" height=\"515.375\" title=\"\">Screenshot of Tencent Video<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>To stay or not to stay: the dilemma deepens<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">When the initial video was first revealed, suspicions of the club illegally adopting orphans and exploiting them for commercial benefit\u00a0dominated, as the fighters were shown in the clip fighting in an iron box surrounded by cheering adults at a local <a target=\"_blank\" class=\"inside_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/tag\/shopping\/\" title=\"View all posts in shopping\">shopping<\/a> mall.<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">But as the story kept unfolding, a prevailing voice of sympathy has been heard, as Tencent\u2019s featured videos presented the children expressing their gratitude towards the club, their love for martial arts and their dreams of becoming successful professional fighters.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h5><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Photo_cgtncom\"><\/span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/FmirHdlytJzp2ptfDUflxyihatDG?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" alt=\"news.cgtn.com.png\" width=\"696\" height=\"389\" title=\"\"> Photo: cgtn.com<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<hr \/>\n<p>\u201cMy dream is to fight for the gold belt of UFC (ultimate fighting championship).\u201d An underage fighter, Xiaowu, talked about his goal to Pear Video.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI practiced MMA to change my destiny. If I go back home, I can only do hard labor at farms or take on part-time <a target=\"_blank\" class=\"inside_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/tag\/jobs\/\" title=\"View all posts in jobs\">jobs<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ajie, the boy seen unwilling to leave the club, expressed his concern. \u201cI\u2019m not leaving, no matter what. I\u2019m not good at studying thus cannot find a proper job if I go back home. Here, I can fight and am making achievements.\u201d<\/p>\n<h5><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"i\"><\/span>\u00a0<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/FhZ_BkgjIsjXGKNnhnOa7os2UDt0?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" alt=\"news.cgtn.com4.png\" width=\"681\" height=\"389\" title=\"\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/FrvUDdHeNGgO1XeypG0nh1U84poa?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" alt=\"ecns.cn.jpg\" width=\"589\" height=\"330.9109090909091\" title=\"\">Photo: cgtn.com<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>The club owner En Bo, a former SWAT member and also an orphan, stressed to Tencent Video that he believed young fighters can have a better life at the club rather than returning to the poverty-stricken hometown. \u201cI see the potential of some of the children to become future MMA champions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But other than fighting, the boys are indeed missing out on regular education. Though the club has employed part-time teachers to teach children basic school curriculums, it does not hold teaching qualifications and cannot fulfill the country\u2019s compulsory education requirement, Beijing News reports.<\/p>\n<h5><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Photo_cgtncom-2\"><\/span><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/FhcNAVhvPl0o0_SmgB8Wts1cjpyt?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" alt=\"news.cgtn.com5.png\" width=\"589\" height=\"557.9371196754564\" title=\"\">Photo: cgtn.com<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Lin Shucheng, the secretary of the Liangshan Prefecture committee of the Communist Party of China, commented that the club should be brought to justice if proven violating laws related to compulsory education.<\/p>\n<p>As to if the school \u201csought exorbitant profits by taking the juveniles for commercial competitions,\u201d police investigation is still underway.<\/p>\n<h5><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Photo_Internet-3\"><\/span><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/FmGde1iqiTWSlJQWbfk1PFDmLuEu?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" alt=\"Internet1.png\" width=\"589\" height=\"768.9722222222222\" title=\"\">Photo: Internet<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<hr \/>\n<h5><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Photo_cgtncom-3\"><\/span><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/FrmOJoMyBCNVqZ9B_GtPxyrpQJuN?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" alt=\"Internet2.png\" width=\"589\" height=\"398.6161616161616\" title=\"\">Photo: cgtn.com<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The problem lies deeper<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Answering to the current situation, Tong Xiaojun, a child protection expert from China Youth University of Political Studies stated the problem lies deeper than the current dilemma.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre they in the game because they have talent or they simply have no other choice? The underlying problem is poverty,\u201d he told CNR.<\/p>\n<h5><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Children_living_in_Liangshan_Photo_Xinhua\"><\/span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/FhFPVNGWk2TGmDg7wT_lZUJ1-rem?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" alt=\"news.cgtn.com6.png\" width=\"668\" height=\"460\" title=\"\">Children living in Liangshan. Photo: Xinhua<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<hr \/>\n<p>The region\u2019s struggling economic situation is further overshadowed by complicated social problems of high HIV infection rate and drug addiction. Caixin quoted past data from Health and Family Planning Commission of Sichuan, which revealed a startling 50 percent of the HIV infection cases are coming from Liangshan prefecture.<\/p>\n<p>Caixin commented that the situation only created more orphans.<\/p>\n<h5><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Children_in_a_remote_area_in_Liangshan_region_Photo_Xinhua\"><\/span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/FqAa4eBMAgRGBLYMocLk5keqJJj7?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" alt=\"news.cgtn.com7.png\" width=\"676\" height=\"425\" title=\"\">Children in a remote area in Liangshan region. Photo: Xinhua<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Last year, the provincial government invested 210 million yuan (31.5 million US dollars) to poverty alleviation projects through education improvement in the region.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #209361;\"><strong>Video: <a href=\"https:\/\/m.v.qq.com\/page\/v\/r\/s\/v00245xp1rs.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/m.v.qq.com\/page\/v\/r\/s\/v00245xp1rs.html<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #209361;\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/Fm7vqWjQW0edfIyhtQpy--SelmBN?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" alt=\"news.cgtn.com8.png\" width=\"689\" height=\"391\" title=\"\"><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n<h5><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_local_school_in_Liangshan_Photo_Xinhua\"><\/span>A local school in Liangshan. Photo: Xinhua<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.hiredchina.com\/FlXXlKXBxtykYAuKbjvAxKMwIbVH?imageView2\/0\/format\/webp\/q\/75\" alt=\"GIC QR.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"543.2937181663837\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The destiny of a group of underage cage fighters from the poverty-stricken Liangshan region in southwest China&#8217;s Sichuan Province has attracted great attention and stirred up hot debate among Chinese &#8230;","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[60,306,29,27,30,288],"class_list":["post-670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-china","tag-hiredchina","tag-jobs","tag-news","tag-shopping","tag-shopping-mall"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=670"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10105,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670\/revisions\/10105"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hiredchina.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}