Thousands of parents in China protested against local authorities transferring their school-aged children to a new public school with very few facilities available, also raising safety concerns.
The police intervened in the protest and made several arrests. “They hit [the parents] and arrested [the parents] in front of our children,” a participating parent told the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times.
Local news reported that new school districts were arranged for several local public schools in Wuhan city starting May 31.
A Safety Concern
Wuhan East Lake High-tech Development zone is also known as the Optics Valley of China, an industrial park filled with plants and factories, and communities full of skyrocket apartment buildings.The new school district arrangement affected at least six communities or apartment complexes inside the park.
A parent, Lily (pseudonym), explained that her child goes to the Optics Valley 15th Primary School, which is just inside her community. The forced transfer would affect thousands of residents within the community.
She said the children used to go to the school located right inside the community, downstairs of their apartment complex. Children could go to school on their own and return home on their own. “Especially the Optics Valley 15th Primary School my child goes to has just added a brand new building with a nice facility,” said Lily.
In China, it’s a norm that parents are reluctant to send their children to new schools, which often suffer from a lack of staff, facilities, and funding from the local government. School busses are never available for Chinese public schools.
The new school, Optics Valley 19th Primary School, is located two miles away from her home, Lily said. Because it’s new, the facility is less up to the standard, the newly hired teachers are also of concern, and there are safety issues both parents and children are forced to face on a daily basis.
“There’s no public transportation available,” she said. The 40-minute walk to the new school is of great safety concern for the parents. There are tram tracks, a fresh food market, and complex neighborhoods.
She introduced that inside the communities were mostly “working class” people born in the 80s and 90s.
In urban China, the “working class” typically refers to migrant workers from the countryside or workers from the bottom of the society.
She complained that the local government cares none of the working class parents. “Just to get the children to this new school could cost parents their jobs,” she said.
She insisted that this is a serious issue that will end up in a conflict, initiated by the government, with the parents who firmly reject the decision.
Protest and Suppression
Lily said that parents protested on June 2 at 9 p.m. and it lasted until past midnight. The police were at the scene blocking the parents from entering the school. Parents were chanting slogans, “Nearby school admission,” and “Refuse to transfer.”There were more than 2,000 people in the protest. A large number of police were also at the scene. “We did nothing and said nothing. But the police forcibly took people away,” she said the police intentionally provoked the parents and used that as an excuse to arrest them.
The police pushed them hard and a physical conflict took place. “They cared about none of the children around, they just violently pushed us around; they snatched my phone, hit and arrested us right in front of our children,” she said.
At least five parents were arrested around her, according to Lily.
The principal of the Optics Valley 15th Primary School talked to the parents and asked them to be understanding because the decision was made by the authorities; but the city said it was the principal’s decision when the parents called the mayor’s hotline, according to Lily.
The Epoch Times called numerous times the local education bureau, the Optics Valley 15th Primary School, and the park’s police station, but no one answered the calls.
