Shanghai-based Fudan University removed a celebratory video for its 110th anniversary from its website and social media accounts on Thursday after it has been accused of plagiarizing a 2014 video from the University of Tokyo, news site thepaper.cn reported on Thursday.
Both videos feature a female graduate - for Fudan an aircraft test engineer, for Tokyo an astronaut - who walks around her respective campus clad in a flight suit. Both videos end with the female graduate taking off her helmet.
The University of Tokyo's official promotional video Explorer was screened in April 2014.
Fudan University stressed that the original one is radically different from the University of Tokyo's as the screenplay was adapted from the heroine Le Yafei's experience. All the details were created after brainstorming, it added.
Teng Yudong, the video's producer and deputy head of the university's publicity department, told media that "the script was written independently," while video director He Yi refused to comment, the Nandu Daily reported on Thursday.
The old video, titled To My Light, was released on Wednesday and was dubbed in English.
However, some netizens were still doubtful, saying that the script and even specific shots were remarkably similar.
"What a shame! So soon after the U.S.'s Republican presidential contender Carly Fiorina slammed Chinese for not being innovative, we go and provide the proof," a Web user said.
A new video was uploaded to the school's WeChat account Thursday night.
