[2] Impersonation in University Admissions: The Root Cause Is Legislative Deficiency

[2] Compiled from: Peking University Legal Information Network, The Paper
 
[3] Recently, Shandong Province revealed that 242 individuals were suspected of fraudulent enrollment and obtaining academic credentials between 2002 and 2009. Among them, the case of a "rural girl whose identity was stolen for college admission" in Guan County, Liaocheng City, Shandong, was exposed by the media, sparking widespread public concern.

 

 
[4] Event Review
[5] Chen Chunxiu, 16 years after "failing" the college entrance exam, planned to enroll in an adult education school. While filling in information, she discovered that "she" had "attended" Shandong University of Technology and graduated successfully. Only then did she realize that someone else had stolen her identity to attend college.
 
[6] The joint investigation team formed in Guan County, Liaocheng City, Shandong, revealed that the woman surnamed Chen who stole the identity to attend college scored 303 points in the liberal arts section of the college entrance exam, 243 points below the liberal arts vocational college cutoff line. The victim scored 546 points in the science section, 27 points above the science vocational college cutoff line, and was admitted to Shandong University of Technology, but the admission letter was intercepted by the impostor surnamed Chen.
 
According to school staff, on May 23, the school received a phone report from the impersonated person, Chen Chunxiu, and subsequently set up an investigation team to begin preliminary verification. On May 26, the school sent personnel to Guan County, Liaocheng, to visit and investigate both the impersonator and the impersonated party.
 
According to the Guan County Joint Investigation Team, the impersonator changed their name to Chen Chunxiu after the 2004 college entrance examination. Upon learning of this situation, Shandong University of Technology immediately initiated the procedure to revoke Chen's academic credentials. The Xuexin.com website shows that the revocation date was June 9, 2020.

 

 
The involved university admitted to lax review.
Ai Xiujun, former director of the Admissions and Employment Office at Shandong University of Technology, stated: "The 'Notice on Doing a Good Job in the 2004 Freshman Qualification Review' issued by Shandong University of Technology in 2004 clearly stipulated in the 'Admission Qualification Review' section that reviews should be conducted based on middle school files, electronic files, and personal circumstances, ensuring consistency among the admission ticket, admission notice, household registration certificate, and personal photo materials. Any inconsistencies should be promptly investigated to find evidence-based reasons. Additionally, students involved in exam cheating or impersonation should be promptly reported to the Admissions and Employment Office." The three problematic students found in 2004 as mentioned by Ai Xiujun did not include Chen.
 
Wei Xiuting, vice president of Shandong University of Technology, stated: "In terms of freshman admission qualification review, the current common practice is for the school to issue documents and notices, hold meetings to arrange tasks, and then have relevant professional counselors from the colleges conduct the initial review of admission qualifications. Generally, one counselor reviews information for several hundred people. If the counselor is not meticulous enough or lacks a strong sense of responsibility, problems may go undetected."
 
 
Legal responsibility
刑法
Article 280, paragraph 3 of the Criminal Law stipulates that anyone who forges, alters, or buys or sells resident identity cards, passports, social security cards, driver's licenses, or other documents that may be used to prove identity in accordance with the law shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, public surveillance, or deprivation of political rights, and shall also be fined; if the circumstances are serious, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years, and shall also be fined.
 
An impersonator may be involved in the forgery or alteration of identity cards or household registrations, and may be suspected of the crime of forging, altering, or buying or selling identity documents.
 
Article 280-1 of the Criminal Law stipulates that anyone who, in activities where identity documents are required to be provided in accordance with state regulations, uses forged or altered identity documents, or steals and uses another person's resident identity card, passport, social security card, driver's license, or other documents that may be used to prove identity in accordance with the law, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to criminal detention or public surveillance, and shall also or solely be fined. If the act in the preceding paragraph also constitutes another crime, the offender shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions for the heavier punishment.
 
If an actor forges, alters, or buys or sells resident identity cards, passports, or other identity documents for the purpose of use, this act both constitutes this crime and the crime of forging, altering, or buying or selling identity documents, constituting an implicated act, and shall be punished according to the principle of handling implicated offenses by selecting the heavier crime.
 
民法
For infringement compensation, two principles are followed: first, all profits gained from the infringement are compensated to the victim; second, all losses suffered by the victim due to the infringement are compensated. When neither can be determined, a statutory compensation limit is set.
 
In this case, where the right to education has been infringed, determining actual losses is both a theoretical and practical issue, which should be addressed from two aspects. On one hand, education authorities can establish mechanisms for reinstating student status and supplementary enrollment, allowing students who were impersonated in college admissions to resume their studies if they wish. On the other hand, wages and other income generated by the impersonating student after attending college should be compensated to the infringed party at a certain proportion.
 
 
Statute of limitations issue
刑法
Regarding the statute of limitations in criminal law, prosecution is barred after the following periods: ① if the maximum statutory penalty is less than 5 years of fixed-term imprisonment, after 5 years; ② if the maximum statutory penalty is 5 years or more but less than 10 years of fixed-term imprisonment, after 10 years; ③ if the maximum statutory penalty is 10 years or more of fixed-term imprisonment, after 15 years; ④ if the maximum statutory penalty is life imprisonment or death, after 20 years.
 
According to the above provisions, if the maximum penalty for the crime of forging, altering, or trading official documents, certificates, or seals of state organs is 10 years, the statute of limitations is 15 years. The law stipulates that if a person evades investigation or trial after compulsory measures are taken by judicial authorities, the statute of limitations does not apply; if the victim files a lawsuit with the relevant authority that should have accepted the case but did not, the statute of limitations does not apply. Additionally, if prosecution is deemed necessary after 20 years, it must be submitted to the Supreme People's Court for approval.
 
民法
Regarding the statute of limitations in tort law, the limitation period for requesting protection of civil rights from the People's Court is 3 years, unless otherwise provided by law. The limitation period begins from the date when the right holder knows or should know that their rights have been harmed and who the obligor is, unless otherwise provided by law. However, if more than 20 years have passed since the date of harm, the People's Court will not provide protection; under special circumstances, the People's Court may extend the period upon the right holder's application.
 
[1] In this case, the impersonator has been continuously committing the infringement, so even after 16 years, the impersonated person can still sue the impersonator in court for the infringement.

 

 
[1] The author's perspective
[2] There is no specific crime in criminal law regarding impersonation to attend university, which I find quite regrettable. In China's criminal law, taking an exam for someone else is criminalized. However, impersonation is even more egregious, as it not only violates basic fairness and justice but also crosses the bottom line of social justice and human conscience. Therefore, in today's rule-of-law China, it is imperative to legislate impersonation to attend university as a crime.
 
[3] How many people have studied hard for twelve years, with their parents toiling in the fields, hoping their children can change their fate through university. Yet in the end, they fail the exam and miss the turning point of their destiny. This is not due to a lack of personal effort, but because dark hands behind the scenes have hijacked their lives. People say knowledge changes fate; these impersonators have stolen not just an admission letter but a lifetime of destiny. To deal with these behind-the-scenes culprits, the law must be the strongest and most powerful means. Justice may be delayed, but it will never be absent.