University of Liverpool accused of racism after emailing all international students on appropriate exam conduct but translating the word ‘cheating’ into Chinese only
- University sent an email to students warning them against cheating in exams
- Email included a Chinese translation for the word ‘cheating’, sparking outrage
- University’s vice-chancellor said email was a ‘mistake’ and ‘wholly inappropriate’
The University of Liverpool has been accused of discriminating against Chinese after an email about exam rules directing at all overseas students included a Chinese translation for the word ‘cheating’.
The university’s Student Welfare Advice and Guidance office sent the email offering exam advice to international students on Monday, warning them of serious consequences if they were caught cheating. The email, which was written entirely in English, contained the Chinese characters for ‘cheating’.
An explanation in the email said: ‘We find that our Chinese students are usually unfamiliar with the word “cheating” in English, and we therefore provide this translation.’
The University of Liverpool has been accused of discriminating against Chinese students after an email about exam rules included a Chinese translation for the word ‘cheating’
The incident sparked outrage among Chinese students. More than 1,000 people signed an online petition demanding a public apology to ‘all international students’.
The university’s Student Welfare Advice and Guidance apologised on Twitter, saying it was not their intention ‘to single out any particular group of students, but to make the information as accessible as possible for our student community’.
On Chinese microblogging site Weibo, the topic ‘University of Liverpool reminds students not to cheat in Chinese’ has been viewed more than nine million times.
‘The term “cheating” is very simple. There is no need to provide a translation at all. All Chinese students at your English university would understand the concept,’ one user commented.
Students were outraged by the email sent by the university’s student services centre
‘If you’d like to warn all international students about cheating, why didn’t you translate the term into other languages?’ another said.
‘I wouldn’t deny that there are Chinese students who cheat, but it’s unnecessary to make the issue about the entire country,’ one user said.
In an apology letter posted on the school’s Twitter account on Tuesday, university vice-chancellor Janet Beer said the email was a mistake and ‘wholly inappropriate’.
‘I apologise wholeheartedly for the offence it has caused,’ she said, adding ‘it is not representative of the high regard in which the university holds its Chinese students’.
‘We take full responsibility for the mistake made and will review our procedures and take appropriate action to ensure nothing of this nature happens again,’ she said.
The University of Liverpool has 33,000 students, 5,358 of whom are from China, according to the school. The university has a joint venture with Xian Jiaotong University in Suzhou in eastern China.