Students force Chinese university to lift Covid-19 lockdown after protest over restrictions that ‘gave dogs more freedom than undergraduates’
- Students at Sichuan University in Chengdu say they were effectively banned from leaving the campus almost two weeks after the city lifted restrictions
- Claims that members of the public were allowed on to the campus to walk their dogs fuelled anger among students and online
Students in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu have forced the university authorities to lift an extended lockdown on campus after protesting over strict restrictions that one undergraduate said meant even dogs had more freedom of movement.
But one third-year student at Sichuan University said that although limits on medium and high-risk districts had started to ease by March 10, tight restrictions remained in force on campus until Tuesday.
“We had to obtain approval from a counsellor every time we needed to leave the campus,” said the student, who declined to be named for fear of punishment. “But actually no one could get such approval unless you have really critical matters like family members passing away.”
He said while most of the students understood the need for lockdowns and were willing to follow instructions, his classmates questioned the decision to extend the lockdown after the local government said the city was free of new cases.