During the summer vacation, many Chinese students form groups to travel abroad. There has been a viral message circulating online, indicating that several regions have issued emergency notices to investigate the situation of overseas study tour groups for primary and secondary school students, in order to guard against the so-called “promotion of Western political systems and glorification of Western civilization.”
According to a report by the Hong Kong media Sing Tao Daily on July 22nd, it is rumored that provinces such as Henan, Shenyang, and Gansu have issued emergency notices to investigate the participation of primary and secondary school students in overseas study tours, conducting a comprehensive investigation into the so-called “hidden ideological risks” of related programs, with a focus on content that “promotes Western political systems and glorifies Western civilization.”
A “top-secret document” from the Education Department of Henan Province circulating on social media platforms such as Bilibili (B site) and Weibo shows that, in order to implement the requirements of the Ministry of Education, local education departments and cultural tourism departments need to collaborate to conduct a comprehensive investigation of primary and secondary school students participating in “overseas study tours.” Simultaneously, they are to comprehensively investigate and rectify the “hidden ideological risks” of such programs, take resolute actions, and strengthen assessment and management.
The document is dated July 10th. The notice also states that schools planning to carry out study activities should submit their proposals to the education department for review. Schools are required to remind parents to carefully choose overseas study tours, “cultural exchanges,” “English learning,” and summer camps.
The Education Bureau of Linxia City, Gansu Province, officially announced on July 12th that they have reported the situation of overseas study tours in the region. In a message posted on the official WeChat account, it was mentioned that they had reported the situation of overseas study tours for primary and secondary school students in Linxia City to the provincial Education Bureau.
Another leaked urgent notice from the Education Bureau of Shenyang also emphasizes the need to “strengthen ideological risk prevention and control” and enhance the management of overseas study programs for primary and secondary school students.
On July 14th, the self-media public account “ATT Research” pointed out that based on social media posts, parents from Shanghai, Gansu, Hebei, and Guangxi have all received similar notices regarding investigations.
On July 8th, a parent from Shanghai shared a survey notice sent by the class teacher a few days earlier. The notice stated, “On behalf of the school, we would like to remind everyone to be cautious about participating in overseas study trips and other activities, and not to register children for various ‘teaching and research’ activities initiated by institutions. If there are similar situations, please inform the school through the class teacher.”
The parent captioned the post with, “Although I have always been cautious about overseas study tours, it’s the first time I’ve seen an official announcement. What’s going on? Does anyone know?” A parent from Shanxi commented on July 12th that the school had sent out two notices in quick succession, specifically naming a study institution and advising parents who had enrolled their children there to urgently contact the class teacher, saying, “I don’t know what happened.”
After this post was shared on Netease by a netizen, many others commented, saying, “If they haven’t seen the world, how can they form a worldview,” “By providing visa-free entry for 144 countries, we encourage foreigners to come to China to see the real China, but we dare not let our children see the real world outside. Kids should go out and see the real world early in order to develop a rational worldview. Otherwise, they won’t be able to distinguish malicious intentions.”
“Once they’ve seen the light, they won’t be accustomed to the darkness. Evil forces: then why shouldn’t they see the light,” “If you treat every bush as a possible enemy, what are you afraid of?” “The tone is becoming more like the era of the Gang of Four (Cultural Revolution)” and “Preparing for a long winter has become a social consensus!”