Chinese Student Expelled For Sex With Ukraine Man, University Cites 'Harm To National Dignity'

A Chinese university has come under fire after announcing the expulsion of a female student for having "improper contact with a foreigner" and "damaging national dignity", according to South China Morning Post. The decision followed the circulation of videos online suggesting the student had been intimate with a Ukrainian man, reportedly a video gamer.

According to the SCMP, Dalian Polytechnic University, located in northeastern China, issued a public statement identifying the student by her full name and detailing the reasons for her expulsion. The university's move has triggered intense debate across Chinese social media platforms.

While some supported the university's decision, accusing young Chinese women of being overly fascinated with foreigners, others condemned the punishment as harsh and discriminatory. 

According to The New York Times, critics highlighted that in other cases involving sexual harassment or assault on campus, perpetrators often faced milder consequences. Many also criticised the university for publicly shaming the student and violating her privacy.

The controversy has sparked a broader discussion around gender bias, personal freedom, and institutional overreach in Chinese educational institutions.

"If there is anyone who truly undermined national dignity in this case, it was not the woman whose privacy rights were violated," Zhao Hong, a professor of law at Peking University in Beijing, wrote in an opinion column, "but the online spectators who frantically humiliated an ordinary woman under the banner of so-called justice and the educational institution that used stale moral commandments."

The university said the student's conduct, in an incident it said took place on December 16, had "caused a negative impact". It gave no details but said the student was being punished in accordance with a university regulation about "civic morality".

That regulation reads: "Those who have improper contact with foreigners and damage the national dignity and the reputation of the school shall be given a demerit or above, depending on the circumstances."