A big scandal in Taiwan has shocked many. A women’s football coach from National Taiwan Normal University is accused of forcing students to give blood to earn academic credits.
A student named Jian shared her story online. She said the 61-year-old teacher, Zhou Tai-ying, had made them donate blood often or risk losing graduation. Jian said she had given blood over 200 times.
Sometimes, it happened three times a day, from early morning till night. At times, she had to give blood every day for two weeks.
The people taking blood were not trained. They claimed it was for research. Jian also said money meant for students was taken as “team funds”. She shared a video of herself crying during one “blood donation” session.
As the blood draws went on for days, her arms were badly bruised. When the takers did not find any veins, they even tried taking blood from her wrist.
“It was truly blood and sweat for credit. I was practically boiling with rage! By the eighth consecutive day of blood draws, they could barely find a vein in either arm,” the South China Morning Post quoted the student as stating.
“They even tried my wrist and failed. It was excruciating. I completely broke down. It took six tries before they finally succeeded!” Jian wrote.
After this, many victims shared their painful stories online about the “vampire” teacher. One student said she had to take a break from studies because of the sports teacher’s bullying. She never told her parents. She feared her father would confront the coach.
Sadly, her father died before she could share the truth. Her college years, which should have been happy, were ruined.
Teacher issues apology
On July 13, the university announced that Coach Zhou had been removed from her duties. They also shared a handwritten apology from her. The teacher apologised to the students, staff and the university.
“I sincerely apologise for the harm caused to the students involved, to the faculty, and to the university’s reputation. I deeply regret the emotional distress caused to the students and want to say sorry to all of you,” SCMP quoted the football coach as writing.
However, both the apology and the university’s statement were later deleted from social media. Many students and the public are demanding justice and more transparency in handling the case.
According to the publication, the reason behind the blood donation remains unclear. It is also not known how the football coach benefited from it.