Mass student protests are gaining steam in China. Now, local police are reportedly going after those leading the demonstrations.
On Wednesday night, protests against COVID-19-driven lockdowns broke out in at least five colleges in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou. Some students say they’ve been confined to campus for more than a year. Authorities say the strict measures aim to stop virus spread.
On Friday, a notice from one college started circulating online. It reads that some students who took the lead in organizing the protests have been detained by public security organs. It also describes the demonstrations as “causing trouble,” and goes on to blame foreign forces for inciting students to, in its words, violate the law.
“Foreign forces” is a term the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has used for decades, often to describe people who stand up against the communist regime or disclose things the regime wants to keep under wraps.
This strategy appears to have been upheld by current CCP leader Xi Jinping. In one case, he remarked last year that the United States and other Western countries will never stand by and watch when they lose their dominant position. He called it inevitable that the West would, in his words, unscrupulously suppress China.
He further called on people to “maintain strategic focus and develop a fighting spirit” against the Western countries.