Slap not the right way to address grievance

Chinese people pass by an entrance of Nanjing University in Nanjing city, east Chinas Jiangsu province. [Photo/IC]

IT HAS BEEN reported that a young lecturer at the Liberal Arts College of Guangzhou-based Sun Yat-sen University is facing dismissal after he slapped the face of the dean at the college's annual meeting, because he thought the dean had intentionally delayed his promotion. Although he has been widely praised online, the lecturer was in the wrong, says Beijing News:

After the incident, the college authorities blamed the lecturer and asked for him to be severely punished. However, on social media platforms, many people praised him for the deed and said that the dean, Gan Yang, deserved the slap for intentionally blocking the lecturer from applying for a professorship.

But if Gan had committed any wrong, the young lecturer should have complained to his superiors or taken Gan to court. An impartial investigation would discover the truth.

It was a rather bad decision by the young lecturer to slap Gan on the face, not only because the 60-year-old Gan, as a senior member of society, deserves courtesy, but resorting to violence won't help solve problems with colleagues. It only makes things worse.

When Han Deqiang, a professor of Beijing-based Beihang University, slapped an 80-year-old person on the street in 2012 because the latter did not agree with his worship for Mao Zedong, Han was widely blamed for rude behavior even though did not receive any legal punishment.

The fact that so many people are applauding the lecturer's slapping of Gan shows there is widespread discontent among young people, especially in colleges. It is time for authorities to better promote social justice and correct the wrongdoings of college bureaucrats, if there are any, because only by solving the problems will we prevent similar deeds from happening again.