Beijing Tightens Control over Elite Universities

On May 25, it was reported that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities are increasingly imposing extreme pandemic control measures at several top universities in Beijing since the implementation of the “Zero-Covid” policy. Some have closed their campuses completely and asked students to go home after protests.

At the Beijing Institute of Technology, CCP authorities decided to put 670 students into a quarantine centre immediately after 10 positive cases were identified on campus. Some campuses are locking students into dormitories where each dorm is shared by six people. They are further required to make appointments via mobile APPS to use the bathroom.

Tsinghua and Peking University’s new “COVID-bubble” policy prevents students from leaving the campus for weeks, and packages containing food, drinks and clothing are quarantined and disinfected before being picked up. Tsinghua University recently reinforced its fence with iron plates to prevent couples from shaking hands and picking up take-out food through the gap in the railing.

Last month, the installation of the fence at Peking University was protested by dozens of students, with online videos showing people removing the panels and expressing their disapproval of the school’s measures. Some other sources revealed that student protests also took place at schools such as Beijing International Studies University. But the news was quickly censored and deleted.