China Nile relic vandal hunted down

BEIJING: A Chinese tourist who defaced an ancient Egyptian monument was hunted down by Internet users who prompted his parents to apologize, state media reported yesterday. A photo posted on Chinese social networking service Sina Weibo showed crudely drawn Chinese characters written over an ancient sandstone panel lined with hieroglyphics, the Global Times newspaper said.
According to the China Daily, the vandalism took place in a temple at Luxor, on the banks of the Nile River.
Internet users hunted down the perpetrator, a 15-year-old boy named Ding Jinhao, and hacked the website of his school, forcing users to click on a sign parodying Ding’s graffiti before entering. The online furor prompted his parents, who said Ding had “cried all night” after learning of the cyberattacks, to issue an apology in a local newspaper.
The incident highlights fears over perceptions of the growing number of Chinese heading abroad for their holidays. “This incident is not just about the problem of one person but has everything to do with national quality,” one Weibo user wrote. “People must die if they lose face for the nation,” another said.