A male professor was expelled from his job at a prestigious university in China and kicked out of the Communist Party after a student claimed he had an extramarital affair with him.
Chang Xuqiang revealed his married male professor, Gong Lin, had an affair with him, leaked his interview questions and showered him with love, which left him feeling depressed.
Gong Lin, 46, was the general manager of the university-affiliated Assets Management organisation and the vice president of the university's School of Mechanical Engineering, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.
Mr Xuqiang, 24, claimed that Mr Gong expressed interest in him when they first met in 2021. He was an undergraduate student in his class at the time.
He exposed Mr Gong on a video-sharing website by revealing his face, carrying his identity card, and sharing multiple screenshots of their conversation logs.
Mr Xuiqiang also revealed a 104-page slide show that included screenshots of their online conversations, naked pictures of Mr Gong and expensive gifts the professor bought for him.
Mr Gong allegedly asked the student to participate in his research projects, took him to meals, added him on a chat app, took extra care of his personal life, and even included his name in a conference paper his team wrote.
During Beijing's stringent COVID-19 pandemic control measures, Mr Gong even diligently borrowed medicine for the student. He was suffering from a toothache six months after they first met.
Mr Xuiqiang claimed that the professor, a married father of two, came out to him in September 2022, asked if Chang was gay and then declared his love for him.
He claimed their affair turned sexual in 2023, adding Mr Gong often brought him to conferences for them to have intimate interactions.
The 24-year-old claimed that he was diagnosed with anxiety and depression due to this illicit relationship.
In January 2024, Mr Xuiqiang stopped responding to Mr Gong's messages in the hopes that he would end the relationship.
Mr Gong was devastated, and he sent Mr Xuiqiang a lengthy letter declaring his love and followed him from Beijing to his village in the Jilin province in northeastern China.
The Beijing Institute of Technology declared on April 20 that the student's charges were true, less than 24 hours after the controversy first surfaced.
The authorities also brought the issue to the attention of the higher education bureau to cancel Mr Gong's teaching credentials.
The institution announced its harsh punishment for Mr Gong, while others demanded Mr Xuiqiang be penalised for improperly obtaining a postgraduate position.
Mr Xuiqiang did not explain his decision to make the affair public. According to his postgraduate payslip, he continued to work for Mr Gong in April.
