On June 3rd, Chinese netizens posted on social media claiming that a certain university in China was requiring students planning to leave the country during the “sensitive period” of the June Fourth incident to submit application materials, undergo a face-to-face interview before departure, report their accommodation address to the counselor upon arrival overseas, and then submit a report on their ideological activities upon returning to campus.
Screenshots circulating online showed that the university’s document included the reasons for students traveling abroad, itinerary arrangements, overseas accommodations, ideological dynamics, and awareness of national security within their management scope. The screenshots distributed with the post appeared to originate from the university’s student management or foreign affairs approval system, covering aspects such as approval before leaving the country, pre-departure interviews, reporting back to counselors and Deputy Secretary of the Party’s General Branch upon return, and procedures for handling violations. One netizen wrote, “The school requires students leaving during these days around June 4th to submit application materials in advance, undergo interviews before departure, inform counselors of their hotel address abroad, and write ideological reports upon their return.”
Another netizen expressed, “Living in China is truly demeaning at times. Our school mandates that students leaving during the ‘June Fourth’ period submit application materials, undergo interviews before leaving, inform counselors of their hotel location abroad, and write ideological reports upon their return. Are you shameless or shameful, sensitive or insensitive?”
During an interview, rights activist Liu Liyuan (pseudonym) from Guangzhou commented, “Every year during the ‘June Fourth’ days, the authorities become particularly nervous. Yesterday (June 3rd), I saw people in the community holding several forms, seemingly registering whether there were any outsiders visiting and what they were doing during these days. I thought at the time, it wouldn’t be so tense. They are just afraid of incidents; if something happens, someone will lose their position. Oh, it’s just a ‘June Fourth’ that has made these people this scared.”
Another screenshot indicated that under the “pre-departure interview” section, the document specified that students were required to undergo face-to-face interviews with counselors and the Deputy Secretary of the Party’s General Branch before leaving the country. The interview would assess the authenticity of the reasons for traveling abroad, the reasonableness of the itinerary, understanding of the political system, cultural customs, laws and regulations of the destination country or region, anticipation and coping strategies for potential ideological conflicts, awareness of safety precautions and emergency contact methods during the stay abroad, and consciousness of safeguarding national security and interests.
Furthermore, the document stated that students must report back to the counselor within 24 hours upon returning to campus and conduct an ideological report to the counselor and Deputy Secretary of the Party’s General Branch within a week. The report would cover students’ ideological dynamics during the stay abroad, their learning and law-abiding situations, observations and reflections, as well as their understanding of cultural differences both domestically and internationally. Counselors were required to fill in records of conversations with students upon their return and file them in the students’ personal records.
Regarding this matter, Mr. Zhang, a counselor at Sichuan University, told reporters that […]
(cont’d)