Professor denies libel charges
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E-mail China Daily, January 21, 2014
A former Peking University professor has denied charges of libel made against him by the university and a campus restaurant, which sued him for his claims that professors at the university had sexually harassed waitresses at the restaurant.
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Zou Hengfu, a professor of economics at Peking University from 1998 until his dismissal in 2007. [File photo] |
Zou Hengfu, a professor of economics at the university from 1998 until his dismissal in 2007, denied the claims during a hearing at Haidian District People's Court in Beijing on Monday.
He is accused of having damaged the image of the university and infringing its reputation.
Zou also faced accusations from Mengtaoyuan Restaurant on the university campus. The restaurant alleged that his micro-blog postings stating that waitresses had been sexually harassed by or traded sex with Peking University professors were "groundless" and have damaged the restaurant's image and affected its business.
The university and the restaurant requested Zou delete the postings and issue public apologies.
Zou's attorney denied the charges, saying Zou had no intention of damaging the reputation of the university and the restaurant.
"The comments by the defendant were mainly for supervisory purposes so that the Peking University administration and the restaurant could reinforce management," said Zou's attorney Zhu Zhengfu.
Zou once wrote on his micro blog, "Except for Zou Hengfu, there are too many obscene men at Peking University."
Zou admitted he exaggerated the truth and rephrased his words in another posting on Aug 30, saying the scandal was limited to "a small number of professors in the university".
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