Is property really worth more than a daughter?

Luo Er is accepting reporters' interview during a press conference in response to his daughter's disease.[Photo/IC]

IN RESPONSE TO why he went online to raise money to cure his leukemia-suffering daughter instead of selling his three apartments, Luo Er, a magazine editor in Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong province, said none of his properties was "available"－one is for his son, one is registered under his wife's name, and one is for his retirement. Beijing News commented on Monday:

The Shenzhen writer's brazen explanation of why he didn't sell his properties to pay for his seriously ill daughter's medical treatment may come as a shock to many. More than a week ago, he posted a heartbreaking story about his daughter on WeChat, a popular social media platform, expressing his deep love for his 5-year-old daughter and asking for financial help.

The post went viral within a few days and prompted over 110,000 people to donate online, until reports revealed that he owns an apartment in Shenzhen as well as two additional properties in neighboring Dongguan. The more than 2.6 million yuan ($380,000) that he raised online has reportedly been returned to the donors following criticism about his withholding the details of the family's economic situation.

Few expected that Luo would brazenly express such a selfish opinion in an open interview after all the controversy he had triggered. He seems to firmly believe his desire to hold on to not just one but all three of his properties is fair and will seem reasonable to others. Thus he didn't think twice before making his comment in public.

His love for his daughter may be real, but it obviously comes with conditions and limitations. By highlighting the necessity of his "investment strategy", he puts his son's future well-being and his own retirement plans, which bear little urgency for the moment, before his daughter's health.

Luo's remarks show that there is still a long way to go to achieve gender equality in the country.