University of Queensland faces heat for naming Chinese diplomat Xu Jie as faculty member
- The Australian institution earlier this month named Xu Jie, Chinese consul-general in Brisbane, to a post, with no public announcement
- A clash between pro-Beijing and pro-Hong Kong students protesting the city’s extradition bill broke out on campus this week
The University of Queensland named Xu Jie, the Chinese consul-general in Brisbane, as a visiting professor of language and culture in a July 15 ceremony at the university, according to a Chinese-language statement posted on the consulate general’s website.
The Brisbane-based university did not publicly announce the appointment. Responding to This Week in Asia’s queries on Friday night, a university representative said Xu was appointed as an adjunct professor until December 2021. This was an unpaid, non-teaching position and such appointments were “common practice”, said spokeswoman Kim Lyell.
“In the past three years, the University of Queensland has appointed more than 260 professorial title holders – including current and former Consul-Generals,” Lyell said in an e-mailed statement.