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Uproar over sacking dying professor
By Ni Tao |
December 11, 2009, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
AS the announcement of his dismissal was read to him, 59-year-old Zhang Zaiyuan lay motionless in his hospital bed, his face ashen with grief as he breathed painfully through a respirator connected surgically to his trachea.
This cruelly timed notice delivered by four officials from Wuhan University could be no less painful than amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a rare neurodegenerative disease, which is also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. Zhang is paralyzed and unable to speak.
For Zhang, a famed architect and once a visiting scholar at Harvard and Princeton universities, this tragic twist of fate ended an odyssey that began with so much promise when he was appointed dean of the School of Urban Design at his alma mater, Wuhan University in 2005.
The dismissal took place on April 30 and went largely unnoticed until it was revealed on the Internet on November 16 by a former student whom Zhang had mentored.
The news set off a firestorm of criticism directed at the 117-year-old university in central China's Hubei Province. Vitriolic condemnations of the perceived perfidy were hurled about in cyberspace.
"I hope your conscience eats at you," wrote one Netizen. "The next paralysis will be yours, you callous hypocrites," wrote another. One recalled a Chinese proverb, "Hares dead, hound roasted," meaning danger past, god forgotten.
More than 60 percent of Netizens surveyed on Sina.com denounced as "appallingly apathetic the hospital-room "sacking" of the critically ill professor. Around 30 percent said "the university might have a case."
While the story is shocking, it's one thing to berate the school for its deplorable lack of conscience, and quite another to condemn the entire prestigious institution for the actions of some administrators.
Since some aspects of this saga have not yet come to light, online vigilantes should tame their first impulse to pillory the university.
First, "sacking" is not the correct term, says the school. "Expiration (of contract) is a more accurate reflection of the truth," Chen Rukun, an attorney representing the university, told Shanghai Daily on Tuesday.
"Zhang's four-year contract took effect May 1, 2005. There is no breach of contract on the part of Wuhan University," he said.
However, Zhang's family accuses the university of falsifying his contract; they claim they found handwritten revisions that advanced the expiration date by four months, from August 31, 2009 to April 30, 2009.
They asserted this alleged change in the contract was aimed at lessening the burden of paying Zhang's medical expenses. The school insists this contract "rectification" was necessary because of an HR worker's original mistake and the changes were approved by Zhang himself.
Complicating the case is the fact that unlike other full-time faculty members, Zhang was not on the school's regular payroll. His job as dean was supposed to be done on the side. China's Labor Law stipulates that only regular, full-time workers can enjoy social security benefits such as medical care and pension.
Who pays the bill?
So who is supposed to foot Zhang's bill?
Under normal circumstances, a regular employer is responsible for medical care. But given the snippets of information gleaned so far, Zhang doesn't have a social security number despite his stewardship of an architecture firm he founded, said Chen, the lawyer.
Whether Zhang sidestepped his social security obligations is only known to himself, and he cannot speak. But the university is apparently the only entity paying his bills.
According to media reports, Wuhan University had shelled out 851,000 yuan (US$124,560) to keep Zhang's treatment going. But Zhang's wife countered that medical bills were mostly paid at her husband's own expense, Xinmin Weekly reported on November 30.
"That's not true. The university has covered 1.1 million yuan, or 80 percent, of Zhang's medical expenses, with the rest borne by himself. It had to siphon off the lesser sum from his paycheck as Zhang's family never spent a dime on his treatment," Chen said.
The university's lawyer rejected earlier allegations that the university had discontinued payment for Zhang's medical care.
"Regardless of the fact that Zhang only worked half-time, the university has been financing his treatment on compassionate grounds ever since he fell ill in 2006," Chen said, adding that the university has done more than its fair share.
"Online mud-slinging is unpalatable," he said.
As Zhang has lost the ability to speak, it's impossible to ascertain from him the validity of these competing claims of this Rashomon story - in which everyone has different perceptions and tries to absolve himself from wrongdoing.
Although unanswered questions persist, there is one clear lesson to be learned by Wuhan University, and other universities in general: If you want to retain talents like Zhang, shelter them under a better social security umbrella than is offered in an impersonal four-year contract.
This cruelly timed notice delivered by four officials from Wuhan University could be no less painful than amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a rare neurodegenerative disease, which is also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. Zhang is paralyzed and unable to speak.
For Zhang, a famed architect and once a visiting scholar at Harvard and Princeton universities, this tragic twist of fate ended an odyssey that began with so much promise when he was appointed dean of the School of Urban Design at his alma mater, Wuhan University in 2005.
The dismissal took place on April 30 and went largely unnoticed until it was revealed on the Internet on November 16 by a former student whom Zhang had mentored.
The news set off a firestorm of criticism directed at the 117-year-old university in central China's Hubei Province. Vitriolic condemnations of the perceived perfidy were hurled about in cyberspace.
"I hope your conscience eats at you," wrote one Netizen. "The next paralysis will be yours, you callous hypocrites," wrote another. One recalled a Chinese proverb, "Hares dead, hound roasted," meaning danger past, god forgotten.
More than 60 percent of Netizens surveyed on Sina.com denounced as "appallingly apathetic the hospital-room "sacking" of the critically ill professor. Around 30 percent said "the university might have a case."
While the story is shocking, it's one thing to berate the school for its deplorable lack of conscience, and quite another to condemn the entire prestigious institution for the actions of some administrators.
Since some aspects of this saga have not yet come to light, online vigilantes should tame their first impulse to pillory the university.
First, "sacking" is not the correct term, says the school. "Expiration (of contract) is a more accurate reflection of the truth," Chen Rukun, an attorney representing the university, told Shanghai Daily on Tuesday.
"Zhang's four-year contract took effect May 1, 2005. There is no breach of contract on the part of Wuhan University," he said.
However, Zhang's family accuses the university of falsifying his contract; they claim they found handwritten revisions that advanced the expiration date by four months, from August 31, 2009 to April 30, 2009.
They asserted this alleged change in the contract was aimed at lessening the burden of paying Zhang's medical expenses. The school insists this contract "rectification" was necessary because of an HR worker's original mistake and the changes were approved by Zhang himself.
Complicating the case is the fact that unlike other full-time faculty members, Zhang was not on the school's regular payroll. His job as dean was supposed to be done on the side. China's Labor Law stipulates that only regular, full-time workers can enjoy social security benefits such as medical care and pension.
Who pays the bill?
So who is supposed to foot Zhang's bill?
Under normal circumstances, a regular employer is responsible for medical care. But given the snippets of information gleaned so far, Zhang doesn't have a social security number despite his stewardship of an architecture firm he founded, said Chen, the lawyer.
Whether Zhang sidestepped his social security obligations is only known to himself, and he cannot speak. But the university is apparently the only entity paying his bills.
According to media reports, Wuhan University had shelled out 851,000 yuan (US$124,560) to keep Zhang's treatment going. But Zhang's wife countered that medical bills were mostly paid at her husband's own expense, Xinmin Weekly reported on November 30.
"That's not true. The university has covered 1.1 million yuan, or 80 percent, of Zhang's medical expenses, with the rest borne by himself. It had to siphon off the lesser sum from his paycheck as Zhang's family never spent a dime on his treatment," Chen said.
The university's lawyer rejected earlier allegations that the university had discontinued payment for Zhang's medical care.
"Regardless of the fact that Zhang only worked half-time, the university has been financing his treatment on compassionate grounds ever since he fell ill in 2006," Chen said, adding that the university has done more than its fair share.
"Online mud-slinging is unpalatable," he said.
As Zhang has lost the ability to speak, it's impossible to ascertain from him the validity of these competing claims of this Rashomon story - in which everyone has different perceptions and tries to absolve himself from wrongdoing.
Although unanswered questions persist, there is one clear lesson to be learned by Wuhan University, and other universities in general: If you want to retain talents like Zhang, shelter them under a better social security umbrella than is offered in an impersonal four-year contract.
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