Tsinghua University Photo: CFP

China's prestigious Tsinghua University issued a notice on Monday regarding some individuals engaging in profit-making activities as "unlicensed tour guides" and "scalpers," stating that two of its faculty and staff members have been placed under administrative detention, according to a statement released by the official account of the university's security department.

The statement noted that recently, Tsinghua University has witnessed multiple incidents where affiliated personnel failed to comply with campus entry registration rules and illegally brought unauthorized off-campus individuals onto the campus. More seriously, some individuals have engaged in profit-driven behaviors as unlicensed tour guides or scalpers—actions that have severely disrupted normal campus order and posed risks to campus security.

To address these violations, the university has collaborated with public security authorities to handle the involved individuals in strict accordance with relevant laws, regulations and disciplinary protocols, the statement added. It also publicly disclosed details of four typical cases related to such illegal activities, aiming to urge all members of the university faculty, staff, and students to draw lessons from these violations and refrain from engaging in similar misconduct.

Among the disclosed cases involving faculty and staff, one member colluded with an off-campus "unlicensed tour guide," organizing groups to enter the campus for visits through unauthorized registration and making illegal profits. Given the large amount of money involved, this individual was placed in administrative detention for 10 days by the public security authority, and the university has dismissed the person in accordance with its management regulations.

Another faculty member posted information online to solicit tourists, while their family members used a licensed on-campus vehicle to transport tourists into the campus for profit, involving a large number of people. Both the faculty/staff member and their family members were placed in administrative detention for 7 days; the university has revoked the staff's campus vehicle permit and their family's campus entry access, and will conduct further disciplinary handling in accordance with rules.

Similar violations were also found among students. One student came across a "help post" about booking campus entry for study tours on an anonymous communication platform, then contacted the post author and individuals claiming to be staff from study tour agencies, which are illegal intermediaries, to illegally register for over 20 off-campus individuals to enter the campus and make profits. Due to the quota limit of the campus entry booking system, the student also recruited "subordinates" on the same platform, organizing other students to jointly help off-campus individuals register for campus entry and paying them remuneration. 

With a large amount of illegal profit made, this student was subject to administrative punishment by the public security authority. The university has imposed disciplinary penalties on this student and other involved students, ordered them to hand over all illegal gains, and suspended their campus entry registration rights during the disciplinary period.

Another junior student, at the request of off-campus individuals including former classmates and friends, illegally registered for more than 10 off-campus individuals (with no direct connection to the student) to enter the campus and make profits. The university has given the student a warning as a disciplinary penalty.

According to the statement, before the penalty is lifted, the student's eligibility to apply for scholarships, honorary titles, and exemption from the postgraduate entrance examination have been revoked, resulting in the student being unable to apply for postgraduate recommendation without examination that year.

Global Times