The official picked to lead one of China's top universities is a former head of the national spy agency's Beijing branch, underscoring a drive to tighten Communist Party power over academia and other sectors not under its direct control. Peking University said in a statement that new party secretary Qiu Shuiping hopes the school can "seize the opportunities in the new era and grow into a world-class university with Chinese characteristics."
The wording of the statement issued last week closely mirrors language used by the Communist Party under President Xi Jinping, who has been expanding the party's already broad powers throughout society alongside propaganda drives to retain young people's loyalty.
Xi, who amended the constitution earlier this year to allow him to rule indefinitely, has also warned against the introduction of liberal political concepts such as universal values into the classrooms of Chinese universities and professors have come under increasing pressure to maintain political correctness at the risk of demotion or dismissal. Qiu's lengthy official resume says that from the end of 2013 to the end of 2014, he was party secretary of Beijing's State Security Bureau. That is the local branch of the ministry responsible for espionage and counterespionage.
The wording of the statement issued last week closely mirrors language used by the Communist Party under President Xi Jinping, who has been expanding the party's already broad powers throughout society alongside propaganda drives to retain young people's loyalty.
Xi, who amended the constitution earlier this year to allow him to rule indefinitely, has also warned against the introduction of liberal political concepts such as universal values into the classrooms of Chinese universities and professors have come under increasing pressure to maintain political correctness at the risk of demotion or dismissal. Qiu's lengthy official resume says that from the end of 2013 to the end of 2014, he was party secretary of Beijing's State Security Bureau. That is the local branch of the ministry responsible for espionage and counterespionage.
