Dear John,
Parents dissatisfied with school closures. Bullying that raises fears about classroom safety. Even in the face of the Chinese Communist Party’s relentless censorship and suppression of dissent, people across China are standing up to voice their frustrations with the country’s schools.
Take the recent case of brutal bullying at a school in Jiangyou, Sichuan Province. Local residents joined together to protest against authorities’ handling of the incident, and persisted as officials attempted to stifle their growing outrage. Massive demonstrations ensued, with chants of “no to bullying” and “give us back democracy.” Social media posts about the fast-moving events outpaced the Chinese Communist Party’s ability to delete them.
The latest issue of Freedom House’s China Dissent Monitor, released today, finds that protests in general have surged over the past two years as China’s overall economic downturn has fueled a variety of grievances. The protests linked to schools are just one manifestation of this broader trend.
