WATERLOO - A University of Waterloo professor has apologized for anti-Chinese posts he made on his personal Facebook account in the past week.

"I didn't mean to hurt anybody's feelings," said Dipanjan Basu, an associate professor of engineering, in a telephone interview today.

Basu has since taken down the posts, but the Record has seen screenshots saved by people who complained.

Basu said his comments were meant to express frustration not at Chinese people, but at the Chinese government for suppressing information about the virus - behaviour that he believes has harmed efforts to contain it internationally.

Jason Wu, an international student from China who was one of many who complained, didn't see it that way.

"It was a surprise to see a prof saying something like that, so unsubstantiated and so racist," he said in a phone interview.

"I'm kind of disgusted."

Wu said he has heard a guest lecture from this professor before and "I thought he was a pretty nice guy."

One of the posts asked: "How will bat chow mein taste?"

(Scientists believe the current coronavirus outbreak originated in bats and then spread to other species.)

Another post said; "The Pakistan-China nexus is one of the deadliest in the world. One is an expert in producing terrorists and the other is an expert in producing viruses."

The university is looking into the matter, said representative Matthew Grant.

"The University of Waterloo does not condone racism in any form and makes every effort to support a culture of acceptance and respect," he said in an emailed statement.

"Currently, our priority is to support those impacted by this situation. For privacy reasons, the University of Waterloo cannot comment on this current situation, but is taking action to examine the remarks."

ldamato@therecord.com

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Twitter: @DamatoRecord

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