Zhang Xuezhong, pro-democracy activist, sacked by university
Law lecturer Zhang Xuezhong fired after he wrote articles calling for elections and an end to Communist Party's dominance in politics
A prominent legal scholar has been fired after he published articles criticising the mainland's political system and calling for greater civil rights.
Zhang Xuezhong, a lecturer at the law school of the East China University of Political Science and Law in Shanghai, said he received a verbal notice from the law school head that his contract would be terminated at the end of December.
"He told me that they had decided to let me go because I still hadn't acknowledged my mistakes after a long period of being banned from teaching," Zhang said. "A final order from the university will come in days."
The president of the university, He Qinhua, declined to comment.
Zhang has been barred from teaching since mid-August after the university said it found he had published articles and books which were "in violation of laws on teachers' behaviour".
One of the articles he published was about the danger of not upholding China's constitution.
Zhang protested against the decision. "This is political persecution of a teacher who expresses his thoughts publicly. It will become not only a serious public event, but also be written in shame into the history books," he said.