By Li Hongmei

A Chinese student at the University of Pennsylvania, one of the top universities in the US, said Vice President Joe Biden insulted China in front of hundreds of Chinese overseas students during his speech at the university's graduation ceremony. In the view of the student, Zhang Tianpu, Biden claimed people in China are unable to embrace new ways of thinking because they are not able to challenge the prevailing orthodoxy.

Biden said, "I love to hear people tell me how - to use the vernacular - 'China is going to eat our lunch'," and went on to praise the United States' open and fair legal system and agile venture capital system. He attributed America's success to its ability to "think different," a famous motto of the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

"You cannot think different in a nation where you cannot breathe free. You cannot think different in a nation where you cannot challenge orthodoxy. Because change only comes from challenging orthodoxy," the vice president said.

His remark enraged Zhang, who has drafted a letter of complaint and collected 343 signatures to demand an apology from Biden. The letter will be sent to the office of the dean of UPenn before it is forwarded to Biden's office, according to the Chinese-language website of Global Times, a Beijing-based newspaper.

Biden's office has not issued a comment on the matter nor responded to the letter of complaint.