THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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Xi Jinping urges universities to be more loyal to Communist Party

Xi Jinping urges universities to be more loyal to Communist Party

The Chinese President has urged universities across the country to be more loyal to the Communist Party of China and become the "stronghold of the party's leadership”.

Xi Jinping made the comments during a meeting with senior members of the CPC Thursday, including members of the Politburo Standing Committee and party representatives at several prestigious Chinese universities, according to Hong Kong daily the South China Morning Post.

It is the latest attempt by Xi to strengthen his control over the country's academic sector, as he remarked that under the party's leadership, universities must be socialist with Chinese characteristics and higher education must be guided by Marxism.

"Adherence to the Party's leadership is essential to the development of higher education," Xi said, as cited by state news agency Xinhua. CCP chief Chen Xu at the prestigious Tsinghua University said that Xi's instructions will become a central part of the assessment of students, and faculty and party committees must routinely report on the political thoughts of students.

A political scientist from the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, Chen Daoyin, told the Post that the Chinese government earlier in 2013 had urged universities not to spread "Western ideas" such as freedom of speech and the separation of powers. Xi's words follow previous instructions from the Communist regime to limit academic freedom.

Last year, then Education Minister Yuan Guiren said that Western values were not suitable for the Chinese classroom, triggering a barrage of criticism both inside and outside the country. Xi's message contrasts with the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2016-2020) launched by the government in September which promised, among other things, to ensure greater freedom of expression amid increased control over media, academia and civil society in general.

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