Chinese authorities have shut down an online survey that found most respondents would prefer a different nationality if they were born again.
According to the South China Morning Post, two editors of the host Web site, NetEase, have also been fired in the past few days, prompting speculation that they have been punished for organizing the poll.
Electronic surveys have become increasingly popular in China thanks to the rapid spread of the Internet and mobile phones. But while the authorities tolerate voting for TV pop idols, they are uneasy about polls on sensitive political subjects.
This did not deter NetEase, which asked readers of its 163.com game site: "Would you like to be Chinese if you had a second life?"
The survey was supposed to run until the second week of October, but it has closed and news editor Tang Yan and opinion editor Liu Xianghui have been sacked. NetEase declined to answer a request for an explanation.
At least two blogs, however, claim to have maintained a record of the results. If correct, they suggest greater insecurity about national identity than is usually reported. Of the more than 10,000 respondents, 64 percent said they would not want to be Chinese if they were reincarnated. The main reason, given by almost 40 percent of respondents, was that Chinese citizens lacked human dignity.
A further 17 percent felt they would be unhappy because Chinese people are unable to afford a house.
Among those who wanted to keep Chinese nationality in a future life, the main reason was love of the country, which was given by 19 percent of the total.
Before it was taken offline the results generated a lively debate on blogs and in chatrooms.
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