Beijing Tech Professor Dismissed After Remarks on Women in Politburo Circulate Online

The dismissal of a law professor at Beijing Institute of Technology has drawn attention online after recordings circulated in which a woman believed to be the professor questioned why China’s seven-member Politburo Standing Committee has no women. The speaker asks, “Among the seven members of the [Politburo] Standing Committee, shouldn’t there be several women?” Some Chinese netizens have speculated that the remarks contributed to the university’s decision, although the school has not publicly linked the dismissal to the comments.

According to a Sept. 29 university notice, Beijing Institute of Technology said it had investigated a teacher identified only as Pei and found “serious violations of professional ethics and codes of conduct for teachers,” which it said had caused a serious adverse impact. The university revoked her qualification to supervise graduate students, removed her qualification to hold a teaching position, and terminated her employment. The notice did not specify the conduct that led to the decision.

Who is Pei Yi?

The teacher identified only as Pei in the university’s notice has been widely identified online as Pei Yi, an assistant professor in the university’s School of Law. According to a Beijing Institute of Technology faculty profile, Pei is a member of the China Democratic League. She earned master’s degrees in law from the University of Liverpool and the University of Southampton, a doctorate in law from Nankai University, and completed postdoctoral research at China University of Political Science and Law.

Before her dismissal, Pei was listed by the School of Law as an assistant professor and master’s supervisor. Her research focused on competition law, intellectual property law, data law, and European Union law. The university profile also listed her as deputy secretary-general of the Beijing Intellectual Property Law Association and as a member of several academic law organizations.

Classroom remarks draw scrutiny

A video purportedly showing Pei teaching has also circulated online. In the clip, a female teacher says, “Without political rights, everything above is just empty talk, everyone.” She then asks, “Among the seven members of the [Politburo] Standing Committee, how many should be women?”

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The teacher then draws an analogy to remarks by the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg about “nine female justices,” arguing that the public would see “all seven Standing Committee members are women” as highly unusual while not reacting the same way when “all seven Standing Committee members are men.”

The teacher also says, “If we really want equality, then it should be that those who are capable rise to the top. But is it really the capable who rise to the top?”

Online reaction focuses on political speech

In response, one netizen described the professor as “politically too inexperienced,” arguing that criticism of the Politburo Standing Committee crossed a more sensitive line than criticism of other state institutions. The commenter speculated that she was probably not a Communist Party member and would otherwise have been accused of improperly “discussing central government affairs.”

The same commenter added that if authorities did not arrest her for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” and detain her for half a month, that would represent the greatest degree of tolerance toward her.

Other netizens also linked the case to restrictions on political speech. One wrote, “The CCP does not allow ordinary people to learn about or discuss ideology, but it allows itself to indoctrinate ordinary people with official ideology.” Another wrote, “She was not wrong, but to Chairman Xi, it amounts to subverting state power.” Others said, “For a university among the ‘Seven Sons of National Defense,’ doing something like this shows that academics still have some pride,” and, “What the Communist bandits fear most are people who encourage everyone to awaken.”

Past cases of academics punished for speech

Pei’s case has also revived discussion of earlier cases in which Chinese university academics were disciplined or dismissed over speech.

Cai Xia, a former professor at the Central Party School of the CCP, was expelled from the Party in 2020 after an audio recording of a private discussion in which she criticized the CCP’s political system and top leadership was leaked. She also lost her retirement benefits. Cai later wrote on X, “I have completely severed ties with this gangster-like party.”

Xu Zhangrun, a professor at Tsinghua University, published an essay in 2018 criticizing Xi Jinping after presidential term limits were abolished. He was later suspended from teaching and academic activities. In May 2020, Xu published another essay examining problems exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China and calling for institutional reform. Tsinghua University dismissed him in July that year.

Liang Yanping, a professor at Hubei University, publicly expressed support for Wuhan writer Fang Fang’s proposed Wuhan Diary during the pandemic. On Oct. 5, 2019, Liang posted a selfie wearing a black hat and black mask, which was interpreted as support for Hong Kong protesters opposing the extradition bill. In June 2020, Hubei University issued her a disciplinary warning, revoked her qualification to supervise graduate students, and suspended her from teaching.

Zhou Yunzhong, a professor at Xiamen University, was dismissed in 2018. On Sept. 1 that year, Xiamen University said Zhou had repeatedly posted “incorrect statements” on Weibo that had “damaged the image of the Party and the country.” The university terminated his employment.

Yang Shaozheng, a professor at Guizhou University, was also dismissed in 2018. A document purportedly issued by the university accused him of “long-term publication and dissemination of politically incorrect statements online” and of producing “a large number of politically harmful writings.”

Zhai Juhong, a professor at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, was expelled from the CCP in May 2018, transferred out of teaching and research positions, and stripped of her teaching qualification. According to a disciplinary notice, while teaching a political science class on “government structure and functions,” Zhai had “incorrectly explained amendments to the Chinese Constitution, incorrectly introduced China’s state-owned enterprise property-rights system, improperly discussed China’s National People’s Congress system, and presented the political systems of other countries and regions in a one-sided manner,” resulting in what authorities described as a negative impact among students.

Critics of China’s higher education system say cases such as these illustrate the political limits placed on academic speech, particularly when comments touch on Party leadership, constitutional reform, or politically sensitive events.