(Reuters) STUDENTS GATHERING AND CHANTING “WE WANT DEMOCRATIC RULE OF LAW, WE WANT FREEDOM OF SPEECH” 2. STUDENTS GATHERING / FEMALE STUDENT SHOUTING “FROM NOW ON, STOP PERFORMING ORAL SEX TO PUBLIC POWER” / STUDENTS CHANTING “YES” / MALE STUDENT SHOUTING “THIS IS NOT A NORMAL CHINA” 3. MALE STUDENT IN MIDDLE OF CROWD SHOUTING “THIS IS A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT GIVEN TO US AS NORMAL CITIZENS” / STUDENTS CHANTING “YES” / STUDENTS CHANTING “WE WANT DEMOCRATIC RULE OF LAW, WE WANT FREEDOM OF SPEECH” BEIJING, CHINA (NOVEMBER 27, 2022) (REUTERS – Access All) 4. SECURITY PERSONNEL OF TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY WALKING TOWARD JOURNALIST 5. SECURITY PERSONNEL CHECKING PASSENGER AT ENTRANCE / SIGN READING “NO VISITING” 6. GATE OF TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY 7. VARIOUS OF STUDENTS PASSING PACKAGES THROUGH GATE STORY: Hundreds of students at at China’s prestigious Tsinghua University gathered and protested COVID lockdown measures on Sunday (November 27), chanting “we want democratic rule of law, we want freedom of speech,” in a rare, widespread outpouring of public dissent that has gone beyond social media to some of China’s streets and top universities. Students at the university gathered outside the Zijingyuan Dining Hall, holding white papers, chanting slogans, protesting against zero-COVID rules. China is adhering to its tough zero-COVID policy even while much of the world tries to coexist with the coronavirus. The latest wave of anger was triggered by an apartment fire that killed 10 people on Thursday (November 24) in Urumqi, a far western city where some people had been locked down for as long as 100 days, fueling speculation that COVID lockdown measures may have impeded residents’ escape. Widespread in-person protests are rare in China, where room for dissent has been all-but eliminated under President Xi Jinping, forcing citizens mostly to vent on social media where they play cat-and-mouse games with censors.
Students at China’s top Tsinghua University protest COVID lockdown measures
