Facing off with riot police

Did they actually win?

Welcome to China Uncensored, I'm Chris Chappell.

Massive protests happened in China last week.  There's something you don't hear every day.

Thousands of students clashed with police  last week across several universities.

Walls of student protesters met a wall  of police at a university in Nanjing.

Police surged into the university.

And hauled off protesters.

That's one way to graduate.

The Party has been terrified of  Chinese students ever since the  

student-led protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

The Party sent in tanks to crush those protests  on June 4th. This is known in the West as the  

Tiananmen Square Massacre, and in China as  “I have no idea what you're talking about.”

So yeah, the Chinese Communist Party  doesn't deal well with student protests.

And since this series of student protests began  on June 4th, the Party was less than thrilled.

So why did these students protest last  week? Was it about freedom and democracy?

Actually, it was about college mergers.

The Chinese Ministry of Education is trying to  merge private colleges with vocational schools.

Which led to this. These students feel very  strongly about academic administration.

Let me explain. Chinese society  today is ultra competitive.  

“China is expected to have a record nine  million university graduates this year.”

That's a lot of people competing for a very  small number of good jobs. So everyone is  

looking for an edge. If students don't get into a  university, some turn to private colleges instead.

They charge higher tuition, but you  can graduate with a bachelor's degree.  

A bachelor's degree is seen as more prestigious  than a vocational degree. But the Communist Party  

has now ordered private colleges  to merge with vocational schools.

So students at private colleges are now  paying more money and getting a worse degree.

They were not happy with that plan.

At Nanjing Normal University, where  over a thousand students protested,  

Chinese police said students held  their 55 year old principal hostage.

“But students said on social media platforms  that [the principal] was protesting together  

with students by sitting on the ground in front of  a lecture hall. Students provided [the principal]  

with water, food, a cellphone charger, and  tissues, according to social media posts.”

Wait, are you saying that Chinese police would lie  about the students to justify their own actions?  

Hard to believe.

The backlash got so bad, some provinces  suspended the college merger plan.

Though the protesters who camped  out at Nanjing Normal University  

weren't told about that until *after* police  attacked them with batons and pepper spray.

So on the surface, the students have won.  The college merger plan has been suspended,  

for now. But, it's likely that Chinese  officials just don't want any trouble  

ahead of the Communist Party's  100-year anniversary in July.

Once that's over, the Party's retaliation against  these student protesters will likely begin.

Now the interesting thing about this  story is that all these students  

have gone through decades of what  China calls patriotic education.  

It was a systematic brainwashing  campaign led by the Communist Party  

after the Tiananmen Square Massacre to ensure that  students of all ages don't question the Party.

I'm sure most of these students never even  heard of the Tiananmen Square Massacre  

and were completely oblivious to the  anniversary they unintentionally commemorated. 

So it must have been a shock to  them when their reasonable concerns  

were met with violence from the police.

The Communist Party gave the  Chinese people a Faustian bargain.  

If you don't criticize our regime, you can  have freedom to...make money. But that's it.

If you're not happy about it,  

there's nothing you can do. In fact, if you  do protest, you're branded as a troublemaker.

So when the Communist Party cracks  down on a person, or a group,  

the general reaction is, well that group did  something wrong. They brought it on themselves.

Until, like these students,  

you find yourself in the group that's  being repressed for a “reasonable” concern.

Remember, in a communist  regime, everyone's a target.

And now it's time to answer a question from a  member of the China Uncensored 50 Cent Army,  

fans who support us and our efforts to expose  the truth about the Chinese Communist Party,  

by contributing through crowd  funding website Patreon.

Balthamus195 asks, “China has  threatened anyone who tries to boycott  

the 2022 Beijing Olympics but nobody  is even allowed into the country,  

unless they've taken a Chinese vaccine. I doubt  many athletes care that much about the boycott  

but I don't think they'd be willing to get  the Chinese vaccine (especially if they've  

already been vaccinated). So will China  back down on this requirement for entry?”

That's a really interesting question. The Olympics  really matter to the Chinese Communist Party.  

That's why they're freaked out by any  international calls for a boycott.

But China is also using the  Olympics for its vaccine diplomacy.  

They've offered Chinese vaccines for this year's  Tokyo Olympics and next year's Beijing Olympics.

And the International Olympics Committee was  like, thank you so much! That's such a great idea!

Japan, however, said no thank you.

But for the Beijing Olympics in 2022, can China  force Olympic athletes to take Chinese vaccines?  

Earlier this year, China did say  that only foreigners who took  

Chinese vaccines would be  allowed into the country.

But according to an embassy statement  in April, US citizens who have taken  

US vaccines can now enter China as well.

So while I'm sure the Chinese regime will make  every effort to make a deal with the IOC to push  

Chinese vaccines, the Communist Party's priority  is making sure the Olympics happen without a  

hitch. So I don't think athletes would be banned  if they haven't taken the Chinese vaccines.

Thanks for your question and  your support, Balthamus195.

And a big thank you to everyone who supports China  Uncensored on Patreon. We could not do this show  

without you. So thank you for joining us in the  fight to expose the Chinese Communist Party to  

the world. If you're interested in joining, head  over to Patreon.com/ChinaUncensored. You'll get  

a bunch of cool perks, including the chance  to have me answer your question on the show!

Once again I'm Chris Chappell, see you next time.