Chinese university refutes bullying accusation

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The Civil Aviation Flight University of China has refuted allegations against senior university students of bullying and harassing students in a lower grade, after a freshman accused the school's female flight attendant students of manipulating rules in a post on Chinese microblogging site Weibo.

The post became a top trending topic on Weibo on Sept. 20 before it was deleted by the student.

It sparked social media outcry and prompted the university to launch an investigation into the student's claim. However, the school released an announcement on Sept. 23 rebuking the claim.

The university's announcement to investigate the claim was commented on over 20,000 times on Weibo. /Screenshot via Weibo

It said that the freshman wrote the post to vent after he felt offended by a joke made by two students and overwhelmed by the first year of university.

The student, who turns out to be male and majoring in a different field, was first believed to be female by netizens.

In the viral post, he claimed he was coerced to abide by strict and unfair rules by the senior female flight attendant students, who barred other freshmen students from wearing makeup, dying their hair, piercing ears, eating or having relationships with other senior male students.

The freshman also accused seniors of perpetuating the social hierarchy and the school of tolerating them for bullying new students.

In addition, photos surfaced online allegedly showing senior females cyberbullying students in lower grades for not saying hi or greeting them when they meet, according to Chinanews.

Younger students experience school bullying more frequently than older ones, according to survey. /VCG Photo

In response, the university announced that no evidence was found backing the student's alleged experience, and said it has zero tolerance toward bullying in a later announcement.

In November 2017, China's education ministry announced a comprehensive plan to prevent bullying at schools, stressing that such behavior should not be overlooked by educational institutions, Sixth Tone reported.

Yet school bullying remains prevalent in China, as it begins much younger for students.

Younger students experience school bullying more frequently than older ones, according to a survey by the 21st Century Education Research Institute, a think tank in Beijing.