Hundreds of students at the prestigious Peking University have protested the toughest anti-covid measures, an unusual act of defiance in this ultra-sensitive institution in the eyes of Chinese power.
The Chinese capital has been the scene of strict health checks since early May, with almost daily screening tests and strong incentives to work from home. Restaurants and non-essential businesses were closed and many homes were locked.
Although the metropolis of more than 20 million has registered only 1,000 cases in recent weeks, the communist regime remains committed to its “covid zero” policy, which is presented as a success in the face of the millions of deaths recorded in the rest. World.
But more than 300 students, who had been locked up in their dorms for a week, protested at the Wanliu campus on Sunday night, according to several students who asked not to be identified for fear of punishment.
In the videos, the content of which has been verified by AFP, students repeat slogans and yell at a university official. Students had just torn down a barrier the university had erected to prevent them from leaving their homes and ordering food.
“Everyone was very upset when the barrier was set,” one student said on Monday.
A university vice-chancellor eventually called out to protesters using a megaphone and asked them to “return (to their dorms) in peace,” according to a video released by a student.
University officials promised to allow students to go to the main campus and have meals delivered.
“You have to do as the government says and let all your freedoms be taken away,” one student told AFP.
When contacted, Beijing University’s “Beida” administration, nicknamed “Beida”, dismissed the “protest” nature, recalling that it “voiced students’ demands.”
The prestigious university was the birthplace of the Tiananmen democracy demonstrations in 1989, which would return to bloodbath on the night of 3-4 June. Therefore, it remains protected by the force.
“Today we saw the Beida tradition of student protest rise from the ashes,” said one Weibo user in a comment that was immediately censored.
Discontent is also striking in Shanghai, the country’s most populous city, where 25 million people have been quarantined since the beginning of April.
Trying to give the population some hope, officials announced on Sunday that businesses are reopening “step-by-step” – a prospect that changes nothing for the millions of people still confined to their homes or quarantine centres.
“I don’t have the slightest hope” of reopening any time soon, one restaurant owner told AFP on condition of anonymity. “Why do people still believe this? We’ve been getting jokes every day since April 1st.”
After surpassing 25,000 daily cases at the end of April, Shanghai reduced that figure to less than a thousand on Monday. China’s economic capital has also recorded nearly 600 deaths since mid-March.
While these numbers are small compared to the rest of the world, the communist regime remains true to its strategy despite its economic weight and growing popularity.
source: Noticias
