Indian students in China are weathering another storm amidst the ongoing protests against the country's strict Covid-19 restrictions. With limited accommodation opportunities and extended quarantine periods, students are facing a huge crisis.
Approximately 23,000 Indian students are enrolled in universities in China and a majority of these students are pursuing medicine. A student studying in a college near Shanghai told EdexLive on the condition of anonymity that although government mandates require outsiders to quarantine for minimum of 10 days when they enter China, some universities are creating their own protocols and have extended this period to almost 21 days (5+9+7 - to also include transition time). "While some universities have offered to pay for students' accommodation, others, including mine, are refusing to. I have to rent an apartment by myself which has been difficult to do for many Indian students," the student said, adding that they have to pay for their RT-PCR tests as well.
What fuelled the protests in China?
To recall, as per a Reuters report, Urumqi's four million residents were under some of the country's longest lockdowns, barred from leaving their homes for as long as 100 days. Additionally, on November 24, a deadly fire broke out at a high-rise building in Urumqi, killing ten residents. While the common people claimed that it is because of the lockdown restrictions that the rescue operations were hampered, Urumqi officials denied these allegations.
This policy has angered the public and with frustration. Considering this, hundreds of people gathered outside the city's government offices. Citing the Covid-19 policy as "a game" which is not based on science or reality, the protestors demanded basic human rights. Moreover, they also staged a rally with blank sheets of paper, flowers and candles. The protests in China also saw participation from students. Hundreds of them from Beijing’s Tsinghua University rallied at their campus, the AFP news agency reported, chanting “freedom will prevail” and calling for an end to lockdowns.
Poor quality of food, accommodation
However, Indian students pointed out that they haven't participated in these protests as they have been under strict surveillance if situated on campus or otherwise. "With the temperatures reducing, many students do not have quilts, jackets and other warm materials to cover themselves. We had left all this luggage in the college hostel when we left last time. But, we are not being allowed to go back to these hostels now," the student said.
Additionally, if the students have been isolated in quarantine centres, they have been asked to pack their food or eat food that has been provided, which they claim is of poor quality, a student told EdexLive on the condition of anonymity. "If we choose to complain against this, universities ask us why we want to go against them," the student said.
However, not all is bad. Some students stated that restrictions are slowly being lifted across the country. "We can now travel using public transport and without a Covid test. We hope things will get better for students too," the student said. On November 23, China recorded its highest number of daily Covid cases since the pandemic began. Before this, the Chinese government has made some tweaks in its Covid-19 protocols for inbound flights, which students said could ease their return to China.
