China’s Fudan University students in flash mob for freedom of thought
- Video clip of protest against changes to charter removing ‘free thinking’ goes viral on Chinese social media before it is censored
- Global Times editor-in-chief describes the revisions as ‘insensitive’
Dozens of students at a prestigious university in Shanghai, eastern China, took part in a singing flash mob demonstration on Wednesday against changes to its charter that have replaced commitments to “free thinking” and “democratic management” with long-winded ideological jargon.
About a dozen students started singing the first verse of the Fudan University school song – which celebrates the pursuit of academic independence and free thinking without political and ideological influence – accompanied by a harmonica as campus security and teaching staff looked on.
The flash mob lasted just under 20 minutes on the first and second floors of the Danyuan cafeteria in Guanghua Building on campus. More students joined the action, which concluded with the participants dispersing. No slogans were shouted or banners displayed, according to a Fudan student who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
“The university is aware of this, and it is clear to us that the students who organised the flash mob were responding to the alteration of our charter,” the student said.
A video clip of the flash mob at Fudan – a relatively liberal college and one of China’s most prestigious – went viral on Chinese social media. The clip has since been censored as debate over the change to the institution’s charter has continued to intensify. The Fudan song’s lyrics have also been widely shared on the internet.
