Cries of Beijing meddling follow academic’s ouster

A China-born academic has been forced out of a leading Australian university for posting online politically charged remarks about his countrymen, reigniting accusations Beijing is using its presence inside global campuses to exert soft power, writes Byron Kaye for Reuters.

University of Sydney business school tutor Wei Wu (26), who gave up his Chinese citizenship to be Australian last year, quit ahead of a university investigation into his conduct. Chinese students had complained he used racist language in a heated exchange on social media website Weibo. Wu called Chinese students in Australia "tun" in Mandarin, a word for pig which, according to his supporters, is also slang for rich, young Chinese who flout their devotion to communism abroad. In postings over the past year, he also published footage of himself burning his Chinese passport, the supporters said.

The tutor's supporters told Reuters the complaint originated with a student group affiliated with the Chinese consulate in Sydney, a sign that they said suggested the complaint was intended to stifle anti-Beijing rhetoric.
Full report on the Reuters site