Unmistakable Signs of a Bu**le:

SHANGHAI--Songs about stock investment by an amateur songwriter have become big hits on the Internet in China, which is being swept by an unprecedented boom in stock investment.

Songs by Gong Kaijie, a Shanghai driver, represent the voices of tens of millions of stock investors in his country.

It's not interesting unless their value has doubled.

I'll wait until their value has risen twofold.

It's really fun to make profits from stocks I bought on a whim.

Sung in a heartrending fashion by a female singer, the ballad recounts her high hopes for the stock market.

Titled "I'll Never Sell the Shares Even After My Death," the song is a parody by Gong of a South Korean original titled "I'll Keep Loving You Even After My Death."

The piece has been among the top 10 songs sold online since May, and the country's karaoke shops chose it as the favorite song of investors.

Gong has written more than 250 songs, though in most cases he simply changed the lyrics of the original. But the content of his songs tends to be serious rather than comical.

Working as a driver for a company president, Gong says the lyrics come to him as he drives.

With nearly 10 years of experience in stock investment, Gong has described in his songs how he felt as stock prices rose and fell. His latest song is the fourth in a series about stock investment, following previous ones titled "Stock Investment is Like a Song of Sadness," "Investors Have No Time to Sleep," and "Stocks are Playing with our Hearts."

While TV broadcasting in China is strictly controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, people can publish their songs on the Internet without censorship or restriction. The popularity of online music such as Gong's is driven by China's many Internet users, estimated at about 160 million.

However, online music has also come under criticism. A love song by a singer-songwriter, titled "Mice Love Rice," became a megahit in China a couple of years ago, but was also one of the first to come under fire.

In mid-October, about 40 prominent composers, lyricists and singers launched a campaign against online music. It seems the campaign was launched after some online music angered Chinese authorities. Some songs parodied famous tunes, while others were seen as encouraging greed, or as being too lowbrow. Even the country's national anthem was turned into a parody song about stock investment--something that is seen as one of the likely triggers for the sudden wave of criticism.

According to Chinese newspapers, many professional lyricists have expressed concern over online music, calling it a "jumble of nonsense." One reportedly said: "Growing up singing such songs, I wonder what kind of adult a child will become in 30 years, when they are key members of the workforce."

Asked about the backlash against online songs, Gong says he is not bothered.

"Net songs belong to the ordinary people, so we don't need any guidance from experts," he says, adding that his songs are yet to come under such criticism.

Saying he hopes his songs will make their singers popular, Gong has already written his next song about stock investment, to be titled "Weak Investors."

(Nov. 11, 2007)