CHINA'S youngest mayor may be in for a load of trouble. Zhou Senfeng, 29, has a master's degree from Tsinghua University. He was elected mayor of Yicheng, Hubei province about a week ago, but has already found himself in a web of controversy. People are questioned the legitimacy of his prestigious Tsinghua degree, his family background and his administrative style.

As soon as news of Zhou's election hit the Web, netizens started digging into his background and, soon they hit dirt. A thesis that Zhou "wrote" in 2005 seemed to resemble, in many parts, a paper written by three other authors, three years earlier. A storm soon broke out over the possibility that Zhou had plagiarized other people's academic work, leading to questions about the validity of his Tsinghua degree.

Even before Zhou could respond directly to these charges, more unflattering material surfaced. One photograph posted on many websites showed Zhou, apparently inspecting crops in a field, standing with several other people who looked like government officials. One of them was holding umbrellas over Zhou's head. "He's 29 and already looks like a self-important bureaucrat," some people said.

Tsinghua University has announced an investigation into possible academic misconduct by Zhou in the case of his thesis. While the public are eagerly awaiting the results, Zhou has declined to comment and has asked to be left alone. "From the point of view of protecting the growth of a young man, I wish that the media would pay less attention to me," he told the press.

That, of course, led to even more skepticism. We believe, however, that Zhou should not be presumed guilty of plagiarism before an official investigation can be completed. The media and public should respect his privacy.

Nonetheless, while Zhou pleads for protection and privacy as a "young man", he should bear in mind the primary fact that he is a government official, a public servant, and, given those circumstances, a public figure. There is no clear law in China regarding the protection of a public figure's privacy, still Zhou's status and position put him in the public eye. And his achievement at such a young age makes the public even more curious. The photo may not indicate anything negative about him, and may just make it clear that he's respected and treated as a senior official by his colleagues.

In this regard, we believe that the attention given Zhou isn't particularly excessive or unjustified, especially given the skepticism regarding his honesty and background. Whatever the results of Tsinghua's investigation, and whatever the future brings for Zhou's career, he should learn to get used to being questioned and doubted without losing the drive in his primary mission – serving the people who trusted him with power. Maybe that's a good way for a young man to grow up fast.

(www.eduwo.com, Jainlyn&Charlotte)