NEWS//Universities' charters are adjusted

The Chinese government is requiring universities to promote adherence of the cause of communism.

On December 19, 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported that references to academic independence and freedom of thought were stripped out of the charter of Shanghai’s prestigious Fudan University.  Substituted in their place were references to “serving the governance of the Communist Party” and “dedication to patriotism.” China’s Ministry of Education noted these changes on its website.

References to the university’s core values, such as academic integrity, encouraging students to pursue the virtues of unity, servitude, and sacrifice, have been replaced with “patriotic contribution,” while “free thinking” and “academic independence” have been removed from the charter.

The charters of Nanjing University and Shaanxi Normal University have also been similarly altered.

Objections to the charter changes have appeared on Chinese social media. But they quickly disappeared. An example is a Weibo post by Lu Xiaoping, vice-president of the literature school at Nanjing University. He wrote, “If we do not speak out today about such a blatant challenge to the bottom line of education and academic ethics, I am afraid we will never have the chance.”

A social media hashtag that referred to Fudan University’s charter changes quickly appeared after news of the changes came to light. The hashtag was used 1.7 million times on Weibo before it was censored only hours later.

Sources: Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Washington Post (2018 prediction), South China Morning Post