Protests by Chinese Students and Tensions ahead of June Fourth

Kawashima Shin
Executive Director of Research, Nakasone Peace Institute
Professor, Graduate School, The University of Tokyo

China’s “zero-COVID” policy has caused a number of problems, and finally instructions were issuedin Shanghai to effectively restore the city to its original state. In May 2022, however, preparations forthe lockdown were underway in various locations in Beijing and Tianjin, and protests erupted evenat universities in these cities, where students live in dormitories.
In China, the academic semester ends in May and June. The protest movement at Tianjin
University and other universities raised questions about how exams are administered and included
students’ demands to be able to return home after final examinations. However, the universities wereslow to comply with this demand by students who strongly insist on their right to return home. Since
the beginning of this year, the students have been confined to the university for an extended periodof time and had high hopes for their “homecoming.” Having been confined up to that point, thestudents’ frustration is now exploding. In addition, because employment prospects of fourth-year
students are extremely poor, there is high anxiety in the universities.
One reason that universities and the government adopted such a strict policy was concern about
the spread of COVID-19 from large cities under the zero-COVID policy, but there was another factor
influencing this approach in May 2022. That is Tiananmen Square on June 4. In Chinese universities,
the administration becomes somewhat tense around June 4. There was an effort to prevent any mass
student activity around this anniversary. Of course, foreign “guests (activists)” and others were also
warned against involvement in any activities at Chinese universities during this period. Theuniversities must have been aware of the need to tighten control over students, even if these warnings
were related to COVID-19. However, it turned out that protests took place even during this period ofvigilance. It is reported that the protests at Tianjin University were aimed at overthrowing formalism
and bureaucracy. Such language, which expresses opposition to being bound by systems and rules
and their over-interpretation and not taking measures appropriate to the current situation, could leadto anti-government movements. That is why tensions remain high in Chinese universities until aroundJune 4.
In 2022, the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party will be held in China. There,
the extension of the Xi Jinping regime will be decided, but it is by no means a predetermined course
without obstacles and barriers. There are multiple barriers in the form of systems and conventions. In1

addition to criticism of the zero-COVID policy, the stalling economy, and the difficulty of finding
work, there have been protests at universities. The Xi Jinping regime, which is planning to extend its
regime, will have to focus not only on COVID-19 but also on stabilizing public sentiment and getting
the economy on a recovery track by autumn 2022. While the war in Ukraine is certainly important,
China will have to focus on stabilizing its domestic politics for the time being.
This commentary was originally published in Japanese on June 1, 2022.

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