China students apologise for humiliating teacher

BEIJING, June 1 (Reuters) Chinese students who humiliated a teacher in class, reminiscent of practices during Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution, apologised after a video clip was posted online triggering national criticism, media said.

Some members of the public gathered over several days in front of the Beijing Haidian Art Vocational School in protest.

The five-minute clip showing a group of students throwing bottles at the geography teacher and jeering him in a noisy classroom was posted on the school's online forum.

A male student was shown abusing the teacher, aged nearly 70, rushing towards him, swearing and threatening to slap his face.

The school's Web site was later hacked by angry Internet users, and thousands of people nationwide condemned the students and urged them to apologise, Xinhua news agency said.

Student humiliation of teachers was encouraged during the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution. Teachers were spat on, cursed, made to wear dunces' hats and in some cases beaten to death.

''Please allow me to offer my sincere apologies to teacher our schoolmaster, all the teachers and students, and also to the public,'' the Beijing News quoted the students as saying in an open letter yesterday.

They had not intended to humiliate the teacher but just to ''have some fun'', they were quoted as saying.

The newspaper said the teacher had accepted their apology.

REUTERS PDS BST0425