Tawdry teacher-student rela'tionships have been the inspi'ration of literature, fantasy and scandal the world over, and none more so than last week when one of my colleagues at the Communication Univer'sity of China (CUC) became embroiled in a "casting couch" affair.

A former CUC student known online as "Siwuxie" claimed that in order to land a highly sought-after place at the school, she had to give herself bodily to the then-University Chief Examiner, Song Nan'nan. Song has denied the alle'gations, claiming that pictures Siwuxie posted on her blog (of an apparently post-coital Song dozing in bed) were faked.

Regardless of its veracity, the accusations conjure up the pos'sibility of what are known as qianuize is at work.

Originally an economic term coined by Chinese histo'rian Wu Si, qianguize (which roughly translates to "unspo'ken rules") is now used to de'note a weaker individual being forced into sexual relations by a person with more power, and getting "qian'ed" appears to be a problem for students at Chi'nese universities.

This is not to say that sex scandals are entirely one-way affairs. At my previous school, I was occasionally propositioned by students asking to be my "girlfriend." One of my stu'dents, Carrie, developed a low-level stalking habit.

Often insisting on escort'ing me home after class, it was during one of these walks Car'rie asked to be my "lover girl." After I politely declined, she attempted to sweeten the deal by saying, "It is OK; I know the foreigner way, we can go your home and be wild, crazy. I can do."

Aside from this not going down well with university au'thorities, frankly Carrie did not really have the looks to test my less-than-steely resolve. Had she, I may have been eager to learn more about this "foreign'er way" she claimed to know so much about.

Part of the problem for teach'ers in China is that the possibil'ity of guilt by association can quickly develop. A teacher has to ensure that he firmly, swiftly and categorically rebuffs any such advances. It may also ap'propriate to inform other staff immediately, as attempting to discreetly brush aside the mat'ter can blow up in the teacher's face later on.

On the flip side, students of'ten fail to report being "qian'ed" as they either think it will hin'der their college career or they will not be believed.

Worse, they fear the situa'tion will be cruelly reversed so that they are accused of seduc'ing the teacher.

The widespread belief that schools side with teachers is one that needs to be addressed. Students shouldn't put up with lecherous lecturers (especially the ugly ones) and university administrators should do more to stamp this predatory behav'ior out.

After all, it's quite evident that teachers aren't up to doing all the hard work themselves.