Peking University Marxist Society Explained

The Peking University Marxist Society (Chinese: s=北京大学马克思主义学会) is a student association of Peking University established in 2000. Concerned about the release of the "Report on the Logistics Workers of Peking University", the registration of the society was blocked, and the president was taken away by the police.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Beliefs

As one of the students told The Washington Post, they believe "Once you study Marxism, you know real socialism and China's so-called socialism with Chinese characteristics are two different things. They sell fascism as socialism as a street vendor passes off dog meat as lamb."^[4]

One of the activities of the Marxist Society members is weekly journeys to factories on Beijing's outskirts and working on assembly lines.

Report on the Logistics Workers of Peking University

On December 15, 2015, the Marxist Society released the "Report on the Logistics Workers of Peking University" on its WeChat public account, saying that there were some problems in the labor contract of Peking University, such as the lack of labor contracts, unpaid social insurance and overtime work. Concerned people inside and outside the school. On the 16th, Peking University responded on its official WeChat and Sina Weibo platform that only a small number of employees participated in the survey. The Report cannot fully reflect the real situation, but the school has been examining individual issues.^[5]

Suppression

As a response to the Jasic incident, in which students from Peking University and other Chinese colleges joined striking workers in Shenzhen, Guangdong to demonstrate against unfair working conditions, Peking University began to exert pressure on the Marxist group. In September 2018, Peking University announced that the Marxist Society would be unable to re-register for the Autumn semester.^[6] In November, Peking University announced that it has eradicated one "illegal organization" inside the Marxist Society.^[7] On December 28, the head of the organization Qiu Zhanxuan, was allegedly abducted and arrested by members of the Chinese police force while in transit to a celebration of Chairman Mao's birthday.

In 2019, Qiu Zhanxuan was detained again and humiliated. Other students were also missing.

Notes and References

1. News: Peking University Threatens to close down Marxism society. 8 January 2019 . Financial Times.
2. News: Xiao . Eva . Yiu . Pak . Too Marxist for China? Radical students rattle Communist leaders . 8 January 2019 . Hong Kong Free Press HKFP . 23 November 2018.
3. Web site: Chinese campus crackdown on young Marxist activists expands in major cities. 2018-11-14. South China Morning Post. en. 2019-01-20.
4. News: ‘If I disappear’: Chinese students make farewell messages amid crackdowns over labor activism . 5 February 2023 . . 25 May 2019.
5. News: Wang . Yunhui . 北大学生调研学校后勤用工乱象 . Peking University students study the chaos of school logistics employment . 11 February 2023 . . . 18 December 2018 . 近日，北京大学学生社团“马克思主义学会”发布了一份《北大2015年后勤工人调研报告》（以下简称“报告”），称学校部分后勤工人存在劳动合同缺失、未缴纳社会保险、超时加班等现象，引发了校内学生的广泛关注。对此，北京大学在其官方微信、微博平台上发表声明，称学校后勤工人有3000余名，调查人数只有100人，不能全面反映真实情况。. Recently, the Marxist Society, a student association of Peking University, released a report entitled "2015 Research Report on Logistics Workers of Peking University" (hereinafter referred to as "the report"), which claimed that some logistics workers of the university have missing labor contracts, unpaid social insurance, and overtime work, which has aroused widespread concern among students on campus. In response, Peking University issued a statement on its official WeChat and Weibo platforms, saying that there were more than 3,000 logistics workers at the university and the number of people surveyed was only 100, which could not fully reflect the real situation..
6. News: Peking University students protest over control of Marxist Society . 8 January 2019 . South China Morning Post . 28 December 2018 . en.
7. News: Westcott . Ben . Xiong . Yong . Marxist student snatched on way to Mao Zedong celebration in China . 11 February 2023 . . 27 December 2018 . en.