Chinese univ charter cuts ‘freedom of thought’
A top Chinese university has removed references to “freedom of thought” from its charter, triggering a rare act of student defiance, while two other institutions added language stressing fealty to President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party.
A video circulating this week showed students at Shanghai’s Fudan University singing the school song -- which extols “academic independence and freedom of thought” -- in an apparent protest.
Fudan’s charter change was announced by the Ministry of Education on its website late Tuesday and criticism quickly trended on social media before China’s ever-vigilant online censors acted to delete posts and block discussion.
Besides removing “freedom of thought”, it adds “arming the minds of teachers and students with Xi Jinping’s new era of socialist ideology with Chinese characteristics”.
It also obliges faculty and students to adhere to “core socialist values” and build a “harmonious” campus environment -- a code phrase for the elimination of anti-government sentiment.
The ministry announced similar pro-government changes for Nanjing University in eastern China, and Shaanxi Normal University in the north earlier this month, although neither institution had referenced freedom of thought previously.
Xi took office in 2012 and has implemented a campaign to increase the Communist Party’s grip and build a personality cult around himself that includes calls for adherence to a vaguely defined “Xi Jinping Thought”, recalling the days of Communist founder Mao Zedong.
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