Chinese Institution Releases Academic Post Following Social Media Claims of Misconduct Allegations

A prestigious institution in China has dismissed one of its faculty members following an allegation made by a doctoral candidate against him for misconduct. This development occurred the day after the student publicly accused the professor on social media and disclosed recorded evidence supporting their claims, receiving considerable backing from online communities.

Wang Di, identifying herself as the accusing party, stated that she is pursuing her doctorate at Renmin University of China's School of Liberal Arts. On Sunday, she uploaded a video spanning 59 minutes on Weibo detailing instances where she felt subjected to both physical and verbal mistreatment by her former supervisor. This individual was previously an ex-vice dean and Communist party representative at the institution located in Beijing.

According to Wang Di, the professor continued to assign tasks to her even after she declined his advances over a period of two years, frequently reprimanded her, and threatened that it could impact her academic completion. The video shared by Wang also contained audio clips purportedly showing the misconduct in question.

“In this moment, I can no longer tolerate such behavior and have nowhere to turn back,” she wrote within the post. She called for appropriate disciplinary action against the professor and requested a new mentor be designated for her. Although her face was covered by a mask in the video, an ID card was visible.

The video garnered 2.2 million likes as of Monday evening with numerous comments expressing support for the student.

Renmin University responded on Monday by stating that their internal investigation verified the allegations against the professor. As a result, they not only fired him but also revoked his Communist party membership and informed relevant authorities in line with legal procedures, as per their statement shared via Weibo.

The university indicated the faculty member’s actions represented a serious deviation from teaching responsibilities, infringing upon both internal regulations and state policies on academic conduct. The professor did not provide any comment at the time of this announcement.

Subsequently to Renmin University's decision, Wang Di's Weibo post was removed.

In recent years, instances of public accusations regarding improper behavior in China have been uncommon, especially following a brief period of increased such allegations during a short-lived movement similar to #MeToo. The Chinese Communist Party typically regards robust social movements as potential threats to stability and its governance.

In June, another individual known for advocating women's rights in the context of this movement was sentenced to five years behind bars on charges related to subversion of state authority, according to those who support her cause.