Two girls commit suicide in pursuit of time travel fantasy

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Time travel TV series have come under fire since two schoolgirls in East China's Fujian province killed themselves on Thursday after leaving notes saying the suicides could help them travel back to ancient times.

The two girls were fifth-grade classmates at a primary school in Zhangpu county, Zhangzhou.

On Thursday afternoon, one of them realized she lost the remote control for a rolling door at her house. She was worried and told her friend.

At 4 pm, the girls each wrote suicide notes and hid them in a closet at one of the homes. Then they jumped into a pool and drowned.

One wrote in her note that her older sister must take care of their parents.

The other one wrote that her friend was killing herself because she was afraid of being scolded for losing the remote control and that they decided to die together because they were best friends.

She also wrote that she had two dreams: She planned to travel back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) to make a film of an emperor; and she wanted to visit outer space.

"Schoolchildren are rich in curiosity but poor in judgment, so this kind of tragedy happens in every era," said Sun Yunxiao, deputy director of the China Youth and Children Research Center.

"I have heard of children jumping from high buildings after watching an actor flying in a magic show. This kind of imitative behavior is in the nature of young children, but it's very dangerous. So we should give some sort of warning for children on TV programs," Sun said.

Time-travel TV series have become very popular in recent years. Typically, the story is about modern people accidentally traveling to the ancient past and falling in love with a royal family member.

According to a media report in February, a 19-year-old Liaoning province woman told police she had paid 1,800 yuan ($285) to an online friend who claimed she could help her travel to the ancient past but disappeared after receiving the money.

Because of several stories along these lines emerging, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television banned prime time - 7 to 9 pm - broadcasts of this kind of TV series at the beginning of this year.

Questions:

1. What kind of TV shows have come under fire?

2. What caused the criticism?

3. Why did they take their lives?

Answers:

1. Time travel TV series.

2. Suicide of two schoolgirls in East China's Fujian province.

3. They wanted to travel back to ancient times.

（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is also fluent in Korean.