The Beijing Foreign Studies University is conducting an official investigation against its journalism professor Qiao Mu after he sparked outrage on social media with a number of posts on his Weibo account saying that most male professors judged women interviewees based on their appearance, Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post reported.
The university report says that Qiao has been on its staff since 2002, but in 2014 he was dismissed from lecturing for breaches of discipline and currently works at the library. Unofficial reports then said he got into trouble over his advocacy for free speech.
In his Weibo post Qiao said that he still takes part in interviewing applicants and described somewhat graphically his personal experience.
For example, he wrote about a female applicant wearing a low v-neckline who had "heaving breasts," finishing his comments with "I wondered who was really put to the test here. After all, interviewers are people too."
Then Qiao detailed the creepy guidelines used by professors when interviewing potential female students.
"Besides checking out their whole body when they first come in, once they sit down you a look at the first two."
He also said that when screening female interviewees, male professors often checked out "their breasts first, their faces second, their as*es third and their legs last."
The article caused a stir online, leading many internet users to question the integrity of the admissions office at the university. While some internet users appreciated Qiao’s candor, others condemned him for his sexist comments.
But the pervert professor has denied the allegations, saying that his comments had been taken out of context. The admission office in their turn said they judge female candidates by their appearance in my interviews. I treat them with the utmost compassion and respect.
Nevertheless, the scandal is indicative of the problem of women’s position in Chinese society, Sputnik China’s columnist Mikhail Korostikov wrote.
"Sexism remains one on the deepest problems of Chinese society, despite equal rights guaranteed by the Constitution and more that half-century involvement of women in all the spheres of social life of the country," Korostikov concluded.
According to the UN Gender Inequality Index, China is in 40th place with only 58.7% of women getting at least Secondary education there.
At the begging of January 2017 a video of a lewd party game at an annual event held by Chinese tech giant Tencent leaked online. It showed female employees on stage simulating oral sex as the women on their knees tried to remove a plastic cap from a bottle wedged between the thighs of two male coworkers.
In October 2016 a brewery company in Beijing’s Tongzhou district, where more than half of the staff is female, made headlines. To create a "unique company culture" and to "promote solidarity," the company set a rule that every morning between 9:00 and 9:30 "team building" exercises require the female staff standing in line to kiss the boss.
Just like Tencent's female workers who asked not to give their names, this company’s employees as well told local media that they gave in to their boss’ demands in order to keep their jobs. Two members who refused to comply were forced to resign from the post.
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