Jokes reveal people's unhappiness with lax stock market management

An investor checks stock information on his mobile phone in front of an electronic board showing stock information at a brokerage house in Beijing, February 16, 2016.[Photo/Agencies]

DOMESTIC STOCK MARKETS experienced a huge, unexpected fall on Monday. On the Shanghai Stock Exchange, about 100 stocks fell to their daily limit, and the start-up board fell by more than 5 percent. On the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, the index fell by 4.51 percent. Yet people made jokes about it, blaming a sculpture near Beijing Financial Street for having brought bad luck. Such black humor shows people are unhappy with the management of the domestic capital market, says a column on Beijing News:

Whenever there is a dramatic drop in the stock market, or abrupt fall in stock prices, people always make witticisms pinning the blame on whatever sculpture is on Financial Street for bringing bad luck.

When stocks fell on Monday, the sculpture was a group of naked children, and people jokingly said they mean "we are too poor to have clothing".

Before this, other sculptures had come, provoked witticisms, and gone; in one instance within half a day.

It is a mistake to regard these comments as people just trying to be funny. People are unhappy with the management of the capital market, yet they cannot change that. There are always insider trade deals in the capital market, and some can always make use of the loopholes in the stock market.

In other words, people know the abrupt falls in the stock market have no link with the sculptures, but they can only blame the sculptures. That's their way of expressing their unhappiness.

The stock market regulators should learn a lesson from people's jokes about the sculptures. They need to strengthen regulatory measures and better regulate the stock market, so as to deter illegal behavior and ensure that any caught acting illegally do not escape punishment.

The latest sculptures are seven bulls. That might be a good symbol for the stock market, but it is bad news, too, because if the stock market falls abruptly again one day, there will no longer be any excuse.