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Sex, shame and the ‘national dignity’ trap in China
A university expulsion has sparked a national debate over gender, nationalism and the limits of personal freedom in China.
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China’s complicated relationship with foreigners stretches back centuries.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
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In the past two weeks, Chinese social media has been roiled by a polarising cultural debate over a university’s decision to expel a female student for having “improper relations with a foreigner” and “damaging national dignity”.
The incident centred on viral videos of a young Chinese woman appearing to be intimate with Ukrainian e-sports player Danylo Teslenko, who posted them in December 2024 on his Telegram channel, which has over 40,000 subscribers.
