Stolen identity! Man discovers he was replaced in college 30 years ago
A local government in central China's Henan Province has launched an investigation after a 54-year-old man discovered that his identity was stolen three decades ago, depriving him of a college education and a stable career.
Xi Nan, currently a police assistant in Jiaozuo, Henan, told Modern Express on Tuesday that after taking the national college entrance exam (gaokao) in 1990, he never received an admission letter and assumed he had failed.
However, in July 2022, officials from the Mengzhou Health Commission informed him that he had, in fact, been admitted to Jiaozuo Health and Medicine School – but someone else had taken his spot under his name.
Xi Nan's college entrance examination application form
The imposter, Li Xinan (originally named Li Mougang), later became a deputy director at a local township hospital. The fraud was uncovered during a routine personnel file review launched by the Mengzhou Health Commission, which revealed inconsistencies in Li's educational records.
Investigations showed that in September 1990, Li Xinan impersonated Xi Nan to enroll in Jiaozuo Health and Medicine School, later securing a government-assigned job at a Mengzhou hospital. He obtained a secondary vocational diploma, a medical license, and a stable public-sector career – all under Xi's identity.
Authorities have since expelled Li from his position and revoked his diploma.
Though the health commission recommended legal action, Xi said no further judicial steps were taken.
Li Xinan, who impersonated Xi Nan to enroll in Jiaozuo Health and Medicine School in 1990.
In 1990, China's gaokao saw 2.83 million test-takers competing for just 610,000 spots (a 21 percent admission rate), including undergrad, vocational, and secondary programs. For Xi, losing his spot meant losing the state-assigned career that should have been his.
"I don't want to make things difficult for anyone," Xi said, "but this fraud irreversibly changed my life. I deserve the truth and accountability."
Late on Tuesday, the government of Qinyang, a county-level division under the jurisdiction of Jiaozuo Municipality, announced a taskforce to investigate. Preliminary findings confirm the media reports, with further measures pending.
