Chinese University ‘Fires’ Professor Who Is Retired and in U.S.

Renmin University, in China, has “fired” Zhou Xiaozheng as a professor of sociology even though he is retired and lives in the United States, Radio Free Asia reported.

Zhou received a call from the university last week firing him from his post. “I said I’m retired, so how can I be fired?” said Zhou. “Just doing it by phone like that was a bit much; who are they trying to humiliate?” Zhou said he was likely fired for “seeking truth from facts,” a Chinese Communist Party expression denoting a more realistic approach to governance than was seen under the late leader Mao Zedong.

The university did not comment. But Zhou’s name appears to have been deleted from the university’s website.