6 events where Chinese students were involved in on-campus conflicts
- From brawls over Hong Kong protests to division over Tibet and Xinjiang’s Uygurs, Chinese students at Western universities have made headlines over the years
- Here are six examples
PROTESTS AGAINST THE DALAI LAMA AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
In February 2017, the university said the Buddhist spiritual leader would be giving a commencement speech to graduating students.
About 5,300 of the institution’s 8,792-strong foreign student body are from mainland China, and they protested against the speech using the hashtag #ChineseStudentsMatter – which critics say was co-opted from the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. The local chapter of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) strongly objected to the monk’s visit and said it would take “tough measures to resolutely resist the school’s unreasonable behaviour”.
The event went ahead despite a series of protests by the CSSA, who said they had consulted the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles beforehand.
ANGER AT UYGUR ACTIVIST’S TALK AT MCMASTER UNIVERSITY IN CANADA