Reported by the USYD Student Union's WeChat account (the most popular Chinese-language social media platform) the words "Kill Chinese" and the Nazi symbol of a swastika were found gratified on the wall of a male toilet inside the university's International Student Lounge - a common area for students both domestic and international to hang out.
It is also reported that the same racist graffiti were found in toilets located in Abercrombie Building, where the Business School resides.
Source: From ACCESUSU WECHAT
Yesterday morning, the University of Sydney Union USU President, Courtney Thompson, condemned the behavior in a statement posted on their and Facebook, calling on students to notify the university as soon as any graffiti is spotted.
An USYD Union spokesperson tells SBS Mandarin that all the graffiti was removed immediately, but the person behind the incident, who was believed to be a lone individual, has not yet been identified.
"Unfortunately, at this stage, we do not know who is responsible, although the University’s security people suggest that it appears to be the work of a lone individual, given the amateurish nature of the graffiti," the USU spokesperson confirmed via email.
They also advised that CCTV is being monitored and their facilities and janitorial staff are "always monitoring all lavatories and buildings on a daily basis."
The University tells SBS that they want to deliver the message that this behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
"As can be seen from our statement, we have opened channels for students to talk to us about this, to report any further incidents and to seek support should they require it," said in the email to SBS Mandarin.
UPDATE: USYD issued statement following the report
In a media alert in regards to the racist graffiti incident, USYD said that the reports of these incidents are of concern to the University, while ensuring the students and public that their community is "safe, inclusive and supportive".
Source: USYD
Chinese authorities call on Australia to do more to protect international students
In response to the incident, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang posted a statement on Tuesday urged the Australian authorities to handle the case properly.
“The safety, dignity and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese students in Australia must be protected with concrete efforts,” Lu said.
A week ago, racist posters targeting Chinese students were found around the campus of the University of Melbourne and Monash University, which angered students and led to Chinese government's response.
Official figure shows that there were 554,179 full-fee paying international students in 2016, and of those the largest numbers came from China and India.
