CRAZY TEACHER: Li Yang delivers a speech at a middle school in Anhui Province on March 19 (HU WEIGUO)
On August 31, a woman using the name "Mother of Lily, Lina and Lydia" posted a picture showing her swollen forehead on her micro-blog at Weibo, one of China's most popular social media sites.
The woman, whose real name is Kim Lee, is the American wife of Li Yang, who allegedly has helped more than 20 million Chinese learn English with his books, tapes and lectures.
In the text that accompanied the pictures, Kim claimed she was being abused by Li.
On September 1, Kim posted another picture this time showing swollen knees with the words, "Don't use violence toward me in front of our children."
The revelations attracted widespread publicity and Li was condemned by the media and ordinary Chinese people. The 42-year-old English teacher, Li, is best known for his special English teaching technique, which he named "Crazy English"—a popular method of language learning that involves yelling at the top of one's lungs. Many people were astonished at the news of Li's domestic violence.
"I cannot believe it," said netizen Helenwoo. "He even held some training classes to teach parents how to educate their children. Who could imagine he would beat his wife in front of his daughters?"
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