Research fellow becomes street vendor
0 Comments
|
|
|
Sun Aiwu and his family [Beijing News] |
Sun Aiwu, a 38-year-old post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Michigan, is now earning his bread by selling small goods in Beijing, the Beijing News reported on November 19. Sun has a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the State University of New York.
Sun has been unsuccessful in finding a job since his return to China half a year ago. To support his wife and three kids, he has a stall selling goods such as socks and hats. Unlike other vendors who stand in front of their stalls all day long, Sun often tags his goods with prices and walks away.
“There was a time when big gusts of wind blew away many of his socks,” said a garbage collector surnamed Zhou. Sun also spent 500 yuan on a desk so that he could study at his stall. He brought his computer and was a white-collar worker in the market.
According to a janitor at the market, Sun is an odd person. When his one-year-old son cried, Sun is said to have stripped the child of his clothes and put him on the ground on a frosty day. The Beijing Rescue and Protection Center for Minors later has taken the son under its care for two months.
It is said that Sun and his wife never stay in one place for too long because they always feel the air is contaminated. Nor do they eat any food from neighbors or other vendors due to the fear of it being poisonous. Their diet consists of boiled potatoes and sweet potatoes.
According to Yuan Shangxian, an expert from the Forensic Science Identification Center of Chinese Forensic Medicine Association, Sun may have some psychiatric problems. Yuan suggested Sun’s relatives send him to see a doctor.
It is rumored that Sun has discussed job issues with Li Xiaowen, a professor at Beijing Normal University. Li tried to provide Sun with an academic post and a monthly salary of 4,800 yuan. However, Sun wants to be a supervisor of Ph.D candidates and felt the conditions of the post were hard to accept. Sun said he plans to return to America if he still can’t find a satisfactory job.
Comments