(Bitter Winter) The CCP has been enforcing strict measures to warrant absolute loyalty from teachers in China’s schools and universities, ensuring that they are exposed as little as possible to democracy, religion, and criticism about the government. Numerous educators have been punished for “improper” speech and other “ideological failures” since President Xi Jinping took office in 2013, and censorship and control measures continue to intensify.
Among them are stringent travel restrictions imposed on teachers, who are demanded to relinquish their passports after each trip abroad and are otherwise prevented from leaving China, even to take a vacation in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Those who disobey are punished and may even lose their jobs.