A doctoral student from Renmin University of China’s School of Liberal Arts in Beijing released a recording on Weibo.
A prominent Chinese University sacked a professor a day after a graduate student accused him of sexual harassment on social media in a rare public allegation and posted recordings as evidence, gaining popular support.
The woman, who identified herself as Wang Di, said she is pursuing a PhD program at the University of China’s school of liberal arts. On Sunday, she recorded a 59-minute video on the Weibo social media platform accusing her supervisor, an ex-vice dean and former Communist party official at the Beijing University, of physically and verbally abusing her.
She also said that for more than two years after rejecting him, he assigned her several tasks, reprimanded her, and threatened that she would not graduate. She also shared audio clips that she said were evidence of the harassment. In one, a man can be heard trying to kiss a woman, who repeatedly says, “No, no, teacher.”
She wrote, “At this moment, I can no longer endure it and have nowhere to retreat, so I am speaking out.” She demanded that the professor be punished and that a new supervisor be assigned to her. In the video, she wore a mask and held an ID card.
Her post went viral, accumulating over 2.2 million likes as of Monday evening, and many users commented in her favor.
Renmin University declared on Monday that, following an investigation, it had determined that the complaints against the professor were true. In addition to dismissing him, the court canceled his party membership and reported the incident by the law.
It stated the academic had “seriously betrayed the original mission of teaching and educating” and that his actions breached party discipline and university rules.
The woman’s post disappeared after the university published its verdict on Weibo.