Chinese professor apologises for smoking during lectures ‘for inspiration’
- Wang Meng’s habit sparks controversy after he is seen in video smoking a cigarette while addressing students at Communication University in Beijing
A visiting professor at one of China’s top universities has sparked controversy for smoking during his lectures and encouraging students to take up the habit because it was “inspirational”.
It prompted Wang Meng, a media lecturer at Communication University of China in Beijing, to post an apology for his behaviour on microblogging site Weibo on Monday.
“It is wrong to smoke in public places, and it is even worse that I was smoking in a classroom. I did not care about students’ feelings, and did not consider the possible impact of second-hand smoke on my students,” he wrote.
Wang’s habit came to public attention in a widely circulated video that shows him smoking a cigarette while giving a lecture at the university on Sunday.
“He simply said that he had to smoke during class, and claimed that it gave him inspiration or something,” one student told news site Pear Video.
“He said his desk was another world where he could smoke – and if anyone else wanted to smoke with him, they could join him up there.”