China professor removed from teaching posts over sex claims

BEIJING: A professor in China accused of sexually harassing students under his supervision has been removed from teaching posts by a top Beijing university, in a case that has sparked national media coverage and a nascent #MeToo movement in the country.

Beihang University said on its official Weibo account late on Thursday that an investigation found the professor, Chen Xiaowu, had engaged in “sexual harassment behaviour” that seriously violated professional ethics and the school’s code of conduct.

The Beijing Youth Daily had reported Chen as saying he had done “nothing illegal”, but he could not be reached for comment as the university declined to provide his phone number and said he was refusing interviews.

The university’s investigation was launched after former Beihang student Luo Xixi publicly accused Chen of sexually harassing her 13 years ago in an online blog that promptly went viral after it was posted on Jan 1.

In the post, Luo said Chen made an unwanted sexual advance after luring her to his sister’s house, and that he only relented after she burst into tears and said she was a virgin. Luo also accused Chen of harassing several other students.

Luo, who now lives in the United States, said she was inspired by the #MeToo social media movement that started in October in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations in the US entertainment industry, and encouraged others to come forward and share their own experiences under the hashtag.

Luo’s allegations, combined with another public post from a Peking University graduate, have inspired students from more than 50 universities to issue open letters demanding more effective oversight and a reporting system to deal with sexual harassment on their campuses.

But unlike #MeToo in the US, the campaign has mostly been spread by word of mouth and has struggled to gain traction on social media, in part because Chinese Internet censors have been swift to take down the open letters. Reuters