Controversy at Shanxi school over shouted 'Ultraman' lines

A high school in north China’s Shanxi Province was given a warning and its principle reprimanded after expelling three students for shouting out lines from "Ultraman," a live-action television series from Japan.

Officials at the education and technology bureau in the city of Yuncheng's Yanhu District said the punishment on students was inappropriate, its process arbitrary and its method simple and rude.

The incidents took place at Hedong No. 1 High School on the evening of January 20 and at noon the next day in the male dormitory, which school officials said “drew a large number of other students to join and seriously disrupted order.”

In a notice written on a chalkboard, the school called on students to report anyone who shouted out the lines from the Japanese anime superhero.

The school backpedaled after netizens complained the punishment was too harsh, saying it didn’t mean to expel them but asked them to go home to reflect on their behavior.

An op-ed by Xinhua Daily Telegraph said the excessive punishment was contrary to the principles educators should abide by — love, patience and responsibility.

Qin Jianwei, the school’s principal, was asked to write a self-examination. Two other school officials were criticized and the teacher who manages the dormitory was removed from his post.

The school will visit the three students' parents and listen to their suggestions.