The Chinese version of the Statement

Recently, it has been brought to our attention that there have been reports from certain media regarding the non-renewal of Professor Xia Yeliang’s employment contract upon its expiration that included false claims about the Employment and Assessment Committee of our department. These false claims have severely damaged the academic reputation of the department. In order to provide an accurate account and restore the truth on the issue, we feel the need to issue the following statement:

Faculty appointment is a routine process of faculty management that is in accordance to pertinent rules and regulations of Peking University and the School of Economics as well as to common international practice. Regrettably, certain media companies attribute this decision to so-called political motive, and have, without proper investigation and verification, unjustifiably criticized Peking University. They have instigated certain universities to pressure Peking University into renewing Xia Yeliang’s contract. Baseless reports such as these have severely damaged our academic reputation, and we strongly disapprove of this defamation.

We hereby declare that: Every member of our committee observed the University’s regulations of assessment and completed the voting process individually and anonymously based on their judgment of Xia Yeliang’s academic performance. Throughout the process, none of the members were subjected to any pressure, political or otherwise. We each take full academic and moral responsibility for our individual actions.

Faculty Employment and Assessment Committee

School of Economics

Peking University

October 25, 2013

Related Reading:

Even in china, dissidents sometimes get fired just for bad work (The Atlantic)