Zhang Ming, dean of political science at Beijing's Peoples University, defended a colleague who he said he'd been overlooked for a promotion, says The Chronicle of Higher Education, going on:

"The bureaucratization and politicization of higher education has already turned professors into slaves," he'd blogged. "Slaves are surely obedient, but they also have no morals, and so also certainly have no sense of responsibility."

Even more to the point, "The university’s leaders can now all be said to be professors," Zhang posted earlier, "but as soon as they become bureaucrats, their asses take over for their brains, and their behavior changes."

In a "rare willingness to engage in a public dispute, the School of International Studies published two open letters on its Web site," says the Chronicle, adding:

"One, apparently written by Mr. Li, assailed Mr. Zhang for his 'destroying of the university's unity and peaceful atmosphere.' While conceding that 'all organizations have problems of varying degrees,' the letter said Mr. Zhang had 'set a precedent by dragging the university’s internal affairs into the public media and stirring up trouble'.

"It appears that Mr. Zhang will still be permitted to teach. In recent years, China has punished outspoken scholars by canceling their classes but allowing them to remain on the staff and to collect their salaries."

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