Yu Minhong apologizes for remark on women's role

Yu Minhong, the founder of education company New Oriental, apologized on Sunday for controversial remarks that irritated many women.

Yu made the apology in a posting on his Weibo account on Sunday night. "To explain 'how evaluation standards can determine the direction of education', I cited the example of females choosing their spouses. Regretfully, I did not express my original meaning and misled the netizens."

"What I wanted to say was that the level of a country's females represents the level of the country… The values of females have influence on males. If women pursue an intellectual life, men will become more intelligent; if women care only about money, men will strive to make more money and ignores the cultivation of their spirit."

The apology came after a controversial remark he made earlier that day drew a wave of criticism.

Yu said on a forum on Sunday that "the moral degeneration of Chinese women led to the degeneration of the country."

"If women only care about money rather than a man's consciousness, all men will become conscienceless but can earn a lot of money, which is the case in today's China," Yu said. 

Yu's remarks made a stir on the social media network. The topic with the hashtag "Yu Minhong discriminates against women" has attracted more than 37 million viewers.

Zhang Yuqi, an actress, criticized Yu for "not understanding the value of females and the meaning of gender equality," in a posting on her Weibo account. The posting received more than 680,000 likes.

A netizen said in a comment under the posting that "How on earth are we women degenerating. We earn more money than men and we could be graceful in the drawing room and skillful in the kitchen while some men behave like huge babies."

Yu Minhong founded the New Oriental Education Group, an education giant of English training, in 1993. As a successful businessman and a national political advisor, he is also known for his outspokenness and appeal for improving the incomes of rural teachers in underdeveloped areas.