The news that Chinese activist Ni Yulan was banned from traveling to the US to accept the International Women of Courage award last week was picked up by international media outlets, including The New York Times. Unsurprisingly, their portraits of Ni were one-sided and missed out important details.

Wu Danhong, an assistant professor at the China University of Political Science and Law, revealed in his blog that after thorough research, he found Ni had lied about being a lawyer and she had faked her undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Ni has served several jail terms and according to Western media, she was left paralyzed as a result of assaults while in detention. Nonetheless, an article published by the Southern People Weekly Magazine said prosecutors in the first trial claimed that Ni supported the adoption of violence to stop workers from demolishing a house and kicked a police officer in his private parts.

But these details were all ignored by the Western media, not to mention they would bother to investigate these details. Based on their own values, these reports purposely choose one side of a story to serve their agenda. They may find it easier to garner sympathy for someone who is disabled and with a radical anti-system stance.

In Ni's case, the Western media focused on her "miserable" experience and the "justice" she claimed to fight for, but they deliberately ignored her dubious educational background and advocacy of violence that might cause chaos in society.

Home demolition has been an issue in recent years during China's urbanization process. Ni rose to prominence as a result of her clash with the government. The issue is complex as some people indeed do not want to move while others intend to seize this opportunity to extort money by resisting demolition. A mixed approach with both legal and illegal means that is adopted by rights activists like Ni is like pouring oil on the flames. This reality is what the Western media did not, or chose not to, take note of.

There are also those who have made a positive contribution to China's human rights course. But the US and the West tend to choose "role models" like Ni who directly confront the government and challenge normal social order.

When assessing China's development, Western media often holds a double-standard, especially when China's approach does not cater to their habitual way of thinking. If the Western media really cares about China's development trajectory as their countries have claimed to, they should have a fairer understanding of China's reality.