Many college students in China protested against the country’s strict Covid-19 regulations this past weekend.

   According to AP News, students from Beijing’s Tsinghua University were sent home because of the protests.  Authorities informed them that final exams would be completed at home, as they would not return to the university this year.  

   In addition, videos of the protests are still up on Chinese websites, which goes against the government’s strict censorship rules.  According to the New York Times, China’s censorship system is the most sophisticated in the world, so it’s shocking that they are unable to censor the protests. Researcher Xiao Qiang gave his opinion on the issue. He studies internet freedom research at the University of California, Berkeley.

   “This is the decisive breach of the big silence, once the anger spills on to the street it becomes much harder to censor,” said Qiang.

   The protestors are clever with their video recording; the unique angles in which they record make it difficult for the government to screen the content and sensor it. For the past few years, China is known to be the strictest when it comes to Covid-19 regulations.  Now, it is too much for the country’s citizens and they have finally decided to push back.

   However, that comes with consequences.  According to CNN, China has punished protesters that have “liked” posts about the protests.  David Zweig, a professor in Hong Kong, used a common Chinese expression to further explain the situation.

   “Liking something that is illegal shows that there is popular support for the issue being raised.  Too many likes ‘can start a prairie fire,’” Zweig said.