The trial of two Chinese students over an alleged assault in a karaoke bar in Michigan, US, has got Chinese Net users hot under the collar yet again.

The two accused, one a graduate and the other an undergrad at Michigan State University (MSU), stood trial last week on charges of assaulting another Chinese MSU student on January 31, 2014. They admitted they were affiliated with an on-campus group known as the Chengguan, made up of Chinese students. Prosecutors painted the group as a gang that intimidates other students, a charge denied by the defendants, who said it was just a crowd of friends who hung out together. Members of the Chengguanhad stickers resembling police badges affixed to their cars.

The name they chose for their group, however, does carry a certain connotation in China after a series of negative reports about the behavior of chengguan, or urban management officers, who are responsible for keeping order in city streets.

The trial has barely raised attention outside the local community as a student gang is not unusual on a large campus. However the news caused much more repercussions among the Chinese public when the news was spread on China's social media.

The majority of the tens of thousands of online comments on Chinese social media regarding the incident are tinged with sarcasm and shame as the gang's name has touched a nerve.

The two Chinese and their cohorts apparently have no rational thinking about the chengguan and used the name intending it to be an awe-inspiring label for their group. Chinese netizens mocked the gang's name, joking that the chengguan had finally been exported to scourge the US.

A small group of wild Chinese students has been taken as another embarrassing example of exporting China's bad culture abroad. But is it really that serious?

It has become a habit of Chinese netizens to adopt a sarcastic and negative tone on China-related incidents happened outside the country. With wide access to information from every corner in the world, Chinese people have displayed complicated affections toward their own country in comparison with others.

Some of them bemoan their own misfortune of being unable to join the emigration trend that averaged 190,000 annually in recent years to enjoy quality education and fresh air. But when overseas Chinese are faced with difficulties, such as the deadly riots against Chinese in Vietnam in May last year, many then question why China didn't have enough influence to protect these compatriots.

As a developing country undergoing a fast transition, China undeniably has many problems to address and large room for improvement. But denigrating ourselves won't do any good.