Beijing: Hu Jintao alarmed by Jiangxi student revolt
The Chinese president yesterday called the Public Security Minister Zhou Yongkang for an emergency meeting after four straight days of clashes between university students and paramilitary police. Violence has stopped now but police are patrolling the campus.
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) China's President Hu Jintao was "alarmed" by the student revolt that shook Jiangxi last week "to the extent that yesterday he called the Public Security Minister Zhou Yongkang for an emergency meeting". This was revealed by a source in Beijing that remains anonymous for security reasons.
The source said: "Minister Zhou Yongkang had to brief President Hu about clashes between university students and provincial police. The government has feared campus unrest since 1989, when students from across China led pro-democracy and anti-corruption demonstrations that were crushed in a bloody crackdown in Tiananmen Square."
On 21 October, police from the southern province clashed with as many as 10,000 college students for four straight days. The students were protesting because they learned their academic diplomas may not be recognized by the government: at least 20 people were injured and five taken into police custody during the clashes. Cars and buildings were damaged.
The protests erupted on October 21 in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, after students were told by a government official that degrees from two private institutions might not be recognized by the Chinese academic authorities.
Soon after protests began, paramilitary police were deployed with an order to "contain" the protests. Many protesters are said to belong to ethnic minorities, including some 2,000 Uighurs.
Now the situation appears to have returned to normal. A student from one of the two institutes said: "School officials have apologized to us for what happened but soldiers are patrolling the campus and students."
Such protests are increasing in China. Entrance exams to government universities are highly competitive, so many students turn to private institutions which in theory are recognized by the state. In practice, the government has stopped recognizing qualifications granted by these institutions, thus rendering worthless students' efforts and money spent.
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