Chinese Graduate Student Exposes Sexual Harassment by Professor

Alarming Revelations from a Chinese Graduate Student

In a striking video that quickly went viral, a Chinese graduate student confronted the camera with a directness that was both compelling and courageous. Wearing a mask, she nonetheless made her identity clear by displaying her identification card prominently. With a determined voice, she leveled serious accusations against a prominent academic figure: a well-known professor at a prestigious Chinese university had allegedly subjected her to sexual harassment over a span of two years.

Shortly after the video was shared on her social media accounts on a Sunday, it garnered millions of views, igniting a wave of outrage directed at the accused professor, Wang Guiyuan. At the time, Wang held the positions of vice-dean and the Communist Party head of the School of Liberal Arts at Renmin University in Beijing. The following day, Renmin University took swift action, terminating Wang’s employment after conducting an investigation that substantiated the student’s claims.

This rapid response from the university highlights the increasing scrutiny faced by Chinese academic institutions regarding their handling of sexual harassment cases on campus. In recent years, numerous schools have come under fire for their inadequate protections for students against predatory behavior from faculty members.

However, in their condemnation of Professor Wang, the university and subsequent commentary in state media notably refrained from labeling his actions as sexual harassment. Instead, they framed the situation as a moral failing, utilizing language that critics argue serves to divert attention away from the victims. Feng Yuan, an academic and founder of an anti-domestic violence helpline in Beijing, articulated the concern: “If they have to avoid saying ‘sexual harassment,’ it’s very hard to imagine that they take sexual violence seriously.”