One of China’s most prestigious universities has removed “freedom of thought” from its charter.
Fudan University in Shanghai recently replaced the phrase with language that promotes “Xi Jinping Thought.” This action appears to be part of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) efforts to deepen its influence in Chinese society.
Already, the CCP strictly censors speech, even banning words in newspapers and social media. But changes to university charters — like what Fudan and two other Chinese universities in Nanjing and Shaanxi recently did — are part of a larger trend of tightening academic control under General Secretary Xi Jinping’s leadership. The party has also fired academics who criticized it.
In a tweet posted by Radio Free Asia, a small group of students at Fudan University gathered in the university cafeteria to protest this change to the charter. The students sang their school anthem, which contains a reference to “freedom of thought.”
【復旦修改大学章程删「学术独立、自由」字眼】
【师生不满聚集食堂高唱校歌表达不满】
上海復旦大学等多家高等学府近日相继修改大学章程，删除「独立之精神，自由之思想」等字眼。事件引起师生不满，在復旦食堂，有学生聚集，以唱校歌方式表达立场。其中两句歌词说："復旦復旦復旦，日月光华同灿烂" pic.twitter.com/rfriv4ZXZi— 自由亚洲电台 (@RFA_Chinese) December 18, 2019
The students risked punishment for speaking out against the charter change. In 2019, the Communist authorities detained and harassed 50 students and recent graduates advocating for better worker rights in Beijing, according to the 2019 annual report of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, part of the U.S. government, released January 8.
Such efforts to control students are especially sensitive in China, since students have previously led significant protests, including those in Tiananmen in 1989 and more recent demonstrations in Hong Kong.
“Since the Tiananmen crackdown, the Chinese government and Party have expanded a costly and elaborate authoritarian system designed to intimidate, censor, and even imprison Chinese citizens,” the commission’s report says.
The Chinese Communist Party’s crackdown on freedom of thought and political expression is not limited to Chinese universities. Through Confucius Institutes and Chinese Students and Scholars Associations, the Communist Party works to censor students and academics around the world. The party has even tried to threaten Western academic journals when they publish on sensitive topics, such as Tibet.
