Renowned scholar sentenced for harassing female students? Macau Court, University of Macau, and East China Normal University responded to history from multiple perspectives | Scholar | Mao Hai

This morning, there were suddenly many discussions on the internet about Mao Haijian, a well-known historian and author of "The Collapse of China: A Further Study of the Opium War".

According to multiple sources, Mao Haijian was sentenced to seven months in prison with a two-year reprieve for his involvement in a sexual harassment case involving female students in July 2022.

Mao Haijian, male, from Shanghai, was born in 1954.

Graduated from the History Department of Sun Yat sen University and the History Department of East China Normal University, under the guidance of Professor Chen Xulu.

Formerly served as an assistant researcher, associate researcher, and researcher at the Institute of Modern History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Professor and other positions in the Department of History at Peking University.

Since January 2015, he has been a distinguished professor at the University of Macau and currently serves as a professor in the Department of History at East China Normal University.

The main historical research works of scholar Mao Haijian include——

"The Collapse of China: A Further Study of the Opium War"

"The Bitter Destiny of the Heavenly Emperor: Emperor Xianfeng's Yi"

Modern Scale: Military and Diplomacy in the Two Opium Wars

"A Preliminary Study of the Historical Events of the Wuxu Reform"

"From Jiawu to Wuxu: Kang Youwei's Commentary on My History"

A Study of the History of the Wuxu Reform in Two Episodes

"Reading Notes on Zhang Zhidong's Archives: The Other Side of the Wuxu Reform"

Still Like the Old Moonlight

The Thoughts of Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao during the Wuxu period.

The judgment circulating online shows that——

The suspect, Mao Haijian, committed a sexual harassment crime as stipulated and punished in Article 164-AL of the Criminal Code through direct, intentional, and accomplished means, and was sentenced to July imprisonment with a two-year suspension of execution.

Sentence the suspect to pay 6.5 units of judicial fees and various litigation burdens. Sentence the suspect to donate 500 Macau dollars to the Victims of Violent Crime Fund. Transfer criminal record registration.

After the judgment is confirmed, the compulsory measures applicable to the suspect shall be eliminated. Log in and store, and notify all relevant parties of this judgment.

If you are dissatisfied with this judgment, you may appeal to the Intermediate Court of the Macao Special Administrative Region within 20 days by appointing a lawyer or entrusting a lawyer yourself, and the appeal shall be submitted to the Junior Court of the Macao Special Administrative Region.

The online judgment only has one screenshot and does not show the date of the judgment.

Due to Mao Haijian's influence in the field of history, the incident still attracted public attention! A reader expressed shock upon hearing the news and said, "Is it really him? I have his book."

A reader commented on his work, "Intelligence crushing! A masterpiece that completely overturns historical cognition. After reading it, I just want to say that this is the ceiling work of Chinese historical research. It showcases the rigor of history and historical truth to the fullest."

Some readers expressed regret, "After reading his writing about his mentor, his admiration for the character of his teacher was touching. After that text, they felt that he must also be a teacher with excellent character, influenced by such a charismatic personality. However..."

"I'm seventy years old, but my life is not guaranteed. It's a pity."

Some netizens also expressed support for the victims of the case, "In fact, this matter has been dragging on for a whole year, and the University of Australia has been struggling. But fortunately, they met a female lawyer sister and a female judge who were willing to help for free, and finally won the battle."

Office of the President of the University of Macau:

"This person has resigned..."

Regarding the authenticity of the online judgment, this morning, Orange Persimmon Interactive contacted the lower court of the Macao Special Administrative Region.

Court officials responded to Orange and Persimmon Interactive: Non parties to the case are not allowed to inquire about the authenticity of the case. It is recommended that journalists follow the official website or relevant news.

Orange persimmon interaction noted that in July 2022, the official account of "Macao Daily" quoted the report of Orange Newspaper, a student magazine of the University of Macau.

Orange News received a complaint that a male professor at the University of Macau invited multiple students to dine together in the faculty dormitory during a period of relative stillness.

After the party started last night, the professor sexually harassed female students during the banquet, including repeatedly using impolite and sexually suggestive language, and engaging in explicit sexual harassment behavior.

According to insiders, the victim has reported the incident to the school and is ready to report it to the police.

The University of Macau subsequently responded, and in addition, those suspected of engaging in inappropriate behavior by school personnel have reported the incident to the police. Currently, the university is unable to make any comments.

The Director of the Operations and Communications Department of the Public Security Police Department, Ma Chaoxiong, stated that the police have received a report from the parties involved and will follow up on the analysis and handling of the case.

However, the name of the professor was not mentioned in the report.

At noon today, Orange Persimmon Interactive opened the official website of the University of Macau and found that no information about Mao Haijian could be retrieved at present.

The Office of the President of the University of Macau responded to the interaction between Orange and Persimmon, saying, "At present, the employee has resigned, and we are not very clear about the specific situation."

The History Department of the University of Macau also provided a similar response, "The professor has resigned, and the specific situation is unclear."

Orange Persimmon Interactive noticed that there are also posts circulating online claiming to be female victims of the case. The female victim claimed that she received the court's ruling notice on June 13th.

"The 11 months of pursuing justice have finally come to an end." "Thank you to the laws of Macau, which have finally given me the dignity I deserve.".

However, in response to the victim's claim, a Macau university student who claimed to be aware issued a rebuttal.

The article stated that on the day of the incident, "Teacher Mao gave a simple hug to two female classmates, but my junior sister didn't feel anything.".

"The Macau prosecutor's office fully accepted her statement and filed a prosecution against Ms. Mao, thus establishing a judicial process."

"Now I just hope that his elderly body can recover well and get through this difficult period. Because this has caused great pressure on him, and he also experienced a sudden cerebral hemorrhage on the way. Fortunately, he sought medical attention in a timely manner, otherwise it would be unimaginable..."

"In our seventies, we, as students, feel deeply uneasy about this great injustice."

Historian Mao Haijian himself has not yet publicly responded

As of now, there is no consensus on whether the suspect referred to in the judgment is a historian named Mao Haijian.

However, Orange Persimmon Interactive noticed that the official website of East China Normal University, where Mao Haijian teaches, has undergone subtle changes.

The reporter logged into the official website of the School of Humanities at East China Normal University, but could not find Mao Haijian's personal introduction information on the teacher's personal page.

Orange Persimmon Interactive called the Propaganda Department of the Party Committee of East China Normal University to verify the rumors online. A spokesperson from the publicity department said, "We are really unclear and not very familiar with this situation. We apologize."

The reporter contacted the Department of History at East China Normal University again, but the phone indicated that the user had been called multiple times and was temporarily unable to connect.

In the professor column of the history department's faculty, there is also no information about Mao Haijian.

At present, the incident has caused considerable controversy on the internet and has also sparked discussions about "character and work".

Some people voice that they want to explore a question: should character be linked to work?

If the answer is yes, it means that if a person's character is poor, then all of their works must also have problems and need to be removed from the shelves.

"If the answer is no, it means that even if a person's character is poor, it does not necessarily mean that their work is bad. The quality of the work should be judged independently by the reader."

Regarding the incident, Orange Persimmon Interactive consulted with legal professionals.

Lawyer Xia Wenzhong from Zhejiang Jindao Law Firm believes that according to the judgment of the Macau court, the parties engaged in sexual harassment in a "direct, intentional, and accomplished manner".

If the judgment is true, it indicates that their behavior has been determined as a crime through judicial procedures.

From the perspective of the sentence, if there are no crimes or new criminal acts discovered during the two-year probation period, the parties will no longer be sentenced, that is, they do not need to go to jail for another seven months.

From the perspective of consequences, if the verdict is true, then it may be difficult to maintain their public office.

Lawyer Xia Wenzhong pointed out that it should be noted that there is no specific crime of sexual harassment in mainland criminal law, and public security management penalties are generally applied to the behavior involved. In severe cases, it may constitute the crime of forced indecent assault.

As of the time of publication by Orange Persimmon Interactive, historian Mao Haijian himself had not yet publicly responded to the incident.