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Fudan apologizes for 'video plagiarism'

FUDAN University apologized today for a promotional video alleged to have plagiarized another one produced by Tokyo University, saying that it will establish a panel to investigate the whole thing and punish people in charge according to investigation results.

“Our video entitled 'To My Light' is in suspicion of plagiarism,” Fudan said in a statement posted on its account on Weibo this morning, “We sincerely apologize as it has caused bad influence to the society, dishonored our school and hurt everyone that cares about Fudan.”

“We will launch an investigation about it,” it continued, “Representatives of related experts, alumni, teachers and students will be invited to join the investigation and people found liable for it will be held to account and severely punished.”

The involved 4-minute 50-second video was released on Wednesday in celebration of the prestigious school's 110 anniversary. It showed a former female graduate in a flight suit roaming about the campus and telling about her studies at the university.

But web users claimed that the video was similar to a 2014 Tokyo University video entitled “Explorer,” which features a woman in a spacesuit telling how she had pursued her dream of working in the space industry. Disappointment, criticism and taunt soon overwhelmed the university.

The publicity department of Fudan insisted on Thursday morning that it was an “independent creation” based on the unique personal life of its former graduate Le Yafei, who is now a test flight engineer of the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, but pulled it off from its official website, all social media platforms in the afternoon.

Teng Yudong, producer of the short film and deputy director of the publicity department admitted in the late evening that the production team had used the story telling method and presenting technique Tokyo University had used for reference and apologized for any bad influence it caused to Fudan.




 

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