Coronavirus: Beijing students in angry protest over wall confining them to dormitory area
- Students at the off-campus compound say Peking University took down the half-built wall after they objected to it
- Hundreds gathered after posts appeared on an internet forum showing staff putting up the sheet metal structure
Sunday night’s protest took place at the Wanliu compound, an off-campus dormitory for Peking University students and staff with its own canteen, supermarket and gym. It came after posts appeared on a student internet forum showing university staff erecting a wall of sheet metal separating the students from faculty staff.
The wall would have barred students from leaving the compound but allowed staff to move about freely.
Hundreds of students gathered at about 10pm, shouting their objections and demanding that the authorities address their concerns.
In a video shared on social media, Chen Baojian, deputy secretary of the university’s Communist Party committee, is seen talking to the students as a protester tries to tear down the half-built wall in the background.
One postgraduate student who was at the protest said the university had backed down on the plan. “[The wall] was taken down after the students objected to it,” said the student, who declined to be identified for fear of retribution.
She said the decision not to go ahead with the wall was made after university leaders discussed it with student representatives on Sunday night.
The Student Affairs Office had organised another meeting on Monday to further explain the decision and encourage communication. The university’s pandemic control task force meanwhile issued a notice on Monday saying a shuttle bus service between the Wanliu compound and the main campus would resume on Monday.