Beijing police has introduced a plan to station in major universities such as Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, and others. The police will be on duty 24 hours a day with the assistance of patrol to control any emerging events and incidences on campus.
According to a Beijing News report on August 15,the first of ten Universities with police station are Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, Beihang University, Beijing Institute of Technology, China Agricultural University, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing University of Physical Education, Capital Normal University, and Capital Institute of P.E. Beijing China.
It is believed that this move is in reaction to the increasing numbers and scale of protest activities and on campus.
Last year, campus protests had increased to an average of two in every three months, and reached a record high since the June 4 Democratic Movement in 1989. The number of participants ranges from several hundreds to thousands. The protest in Zhengzhou University numbered as many as 10,000 participants.
The causes leading to the campus protest activities varied. For instance,
· The Lanzhou Commercial College student protest was caused by a female student being beaten by university employees for getting extra water from a supply station. A quarrel broke out that led to the student being beaten up and wounded by four staff members at the water station. · Sichuan University students protested against the school electricity blackout policy to prohibit the students from watching the World Cup · The student protests in Shengda University and Dalian Neusoft Institute of Information College were due to both universities deceiving the students with expensive tuition fees and false promises of a regular diploma. These protests led to a direct confrontation between the angry students and the police as well as damaging of police cars
Even though most student protests have been blocked by the authority, many photos and videos made their way to the outside world through Internet.
As indicated by a student, “There are so many student protests nowadays that everyone is familiar with it. People dare to express their disappointment.”
In one instance, Tianjin Technical and Vocational College student protested on June 7 because of a blackout in the dormitory. More than a thousand students participated. The anti-riot police were called in. The protest lasted for two hours until the power was resumed.
The latest event was on July 5. University of Electronic Science and Technology of Zhongshan Institute, Guangdong, had a massive protest by dormitory students who refused to relocate. Since July 6, the University has cut off the Internet access for several days to block the news. The administrators, teachers, and securities have taken shifts all day in the dorm to prevent a “riot.”
According to Chinese official data, there were a total of 87,000 massive protests last year. Even though campus protests have been proportionally insignificant, the official has treated the campus protests with extreme caution due to the scale, impact and sensitivity of the Tiananmen Massacre that occurred on June 4 1989.
