Prof accused of rape gets canned 20 yrs after student’s suicide

Another university professor has been taken down by China’s fledgling #metoo movement, 20 years after the student that he allegedly sexually harassed and raped committed suicide.

On April 5th — Tomb Sweeping Day, a day in which people across China paid tribute to loved ones that had passed away — a woman named Li Youyou remembered her friend Gao Yan and called for an investigation to be re-opened into the alleged misdeeds of professor Shen Yang.

Gao was an undergraduate student at Peking University and Shen was her literature professor. According to Li’s blog post, beginning in 1996, Shen began sexually harassing and assaulting Gao.

Li writes that Gao had once told her that Shen had lured her into his apartment by claiming that they would go over a literature assignment. Once inside, he jumped on her and raped her, Li claims.

According to Li, when confronted about his alleged misconduct, Shen denied that anything had taken place and began to spread rumors that Gao suffered from a mental illness.

In 1998, Gao took her own life at the age of 21.

Li, who now lives in Canada, says that Shen is responsible for her friend’s death. She and Gao’s family have long tried to get justice for Gao, but have been unsuccessful. Inspired by the #metoo movement, she decided to author a blog post in hopes of drawing attention back to what happened more than 20 years ago.

The post instantly sparked anger and outrage across the Chinese internet late last week, with netizens demanding that the universities employing Shen take action.

Shen Yang

Shen, 63, now works as the dean of Nanjing University’s literature department. In an interview with the Beijing News on Friday, he denied the charges made against him as “malicious rumors.” He said that police had carried out an investigation into his relationship with Gao, which found that he had not done anything illegal.

However, a short time later, Peking University published documents revealing that Shen had received a serious disciplinary warning for “ethical misconduct” in 1998 after the conclusion of the investigation.

Nanjing University said that it not been informed about this warning when Shen transferred over in 2011. Stating that it is no longer appropriate for him to serve in his position as dean, the university has asked Shen to resign.

Meanwhile, Shanghai Normal University, where Shen worked on a part-time basis, has also cut ties with the professor, citing a zero-tolerance policy on teachers with ethical violations.

While many have argued that the #MeToo movement has very little chance of really taking off in China, it does seem to at least be having some effect in Chinese academia. Earlier this year, a Beihang University professor was sacked after allegations of sexual misconduct with students exploded online.

In addition, Gao’s case has at least caused Peking University to promise to institute a set of rules on sexual harassment — something that one of China’s most prestigious institutions of higher learning had apparently not thought to do before.

TRENDING

EVENTS