University suspends qualification of professor suspected of molestation

XIAMEN, Fujian province - A history professor at a leading university in Xiamen in southeastern China's Fujian province had his teaching qualification temporarily revoked on Saturday on suspicion of molesting students.

The revocation is the first official response from Xiamen University after a blogger named "Qing Chun Da Peng Che" (Youth Caravan) exposed online how the professor, Wu Chunming, had enticed female students into unlawful sexual intercourse.

A photo featuring the man in bed and partially nude was also posted online.

The blogger claimed to be one of the victims of the professor, and intended to support another victim of the History Department who had earlier posted online about being molested by an unnamed professor.

The student, using the online name "Ting Yang," posted a guidebook online in June for potential female postgraduates to keep away from a "beastly professor" of the department.

In an official statement released on Saturday, Xiamen University said that a special work team had been established to investigate the case.

During the investigation, Wu Chunming will be banned from teaching, enrollment or advising postgraduates.

"We will not tolerate any unethical behavior by the faculty and will seriously punish according to school rules," said the statement.

The Professor Committee and Management Committee of the History Department of the university held a joint meeting on Friday and decided to suspend Wu's services with the Professor Committee.

It is not yet known if the case will be transferred to the police.

Wu and the bloggers were unable to be reached.

Born in 1966, Wu achieved his bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees from Xiamen University and majored in archeology and ancient history.

He has published a dozen archeology works on ethnic minorities and maritime archeology and led a number of state research programs.