Coronavirus: students protest against China university lockdowns citing lack of virus cases, lack of consistency
- The academic year starts in China with school restrictions, rigid management and student protests igniting social media
- Strict exit controls coincide with campus food prices rising as well as limits on internet and shower time
Chinese students have taken their anger to social media to protest against what they called a rigid, one-size-fits-all restriction imposed by university management as classes resumed on campus over the past month.
For example, at Shanxi University in central China, students have been put on strict lockdown and security guards were sent to attend the school gates at all times to ensure no students left the campus without approval from school administrators, according to student Zhang Li.
Zhang told the South China Morning Post she had not set foot outside the campus since the school term resumed this month even though there had been no new local Covid-19 cases for months.
The epidemic is under control in large parts of China and in most cities the only new cases are coming from abroad.
According to China’s health commission, by late on Wednesday there were seven new Covid-19 cases in the country. All were imported and there were no new local cases. There are a total of 167 confirmed active cases in China.