Just when I thought the Fan Meizhong story had wound down to a simmering denouement, the curtain has been raised again to feature Act II. The teacher who left his pupils behind in a notorious sprint from an earthquake-shaken classroom has made his television debut.

More surprisingly, he came out the good guy - or more accurately, the better guy. Phoenix TV pitched him against a "morality fighter" who condemned Fan outright. And netizens basically voted that between cowardice and hypocrisy they deemed the former a lesser sin.

If we see the earthquake response as a big picture, China's netizens have been playing the role of morality fighter. It is their favorite role.