DATE=5/24/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHINA-STUDENT PROTEST O'NITE (L-ONLY))
NUMBER=2-262771
BYLINE=LETA HONG FINCHER
DATELINE=BEIJING
CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO:  Up to two-thousand Beijing University students 
staged a second night of protests after the murder of 
a fellow student. The protests come at an extremely 
sensitive time for the Chinese government, less than 
two weeks before the anniversary of the violent 
crackdown of a large democratic movement at Tiananmen 
Square in 1989. VOA's Leta Hong Fincher has this 
report from Beijing.


TEXT: 
            ///PROTEST SOUND, THEN FADE///

The protest reached its peak close to nine p-m 
Wednesday , when  two thousand students lit candles 
and marched through the campus of Beijing's most 
prestigious university, yelling we demand dialogue, 
and down with bureaucracy.

The students say they are still dissatisfied with what 
they call a university cover-up of the rape and murder 
of nineteen year-old politics major, Qiu Qingfeng.  
Ms. Qiu's body was found last Saturday.  But campus 
officials waited until the following Tuesday to 
announce the information.  

            ///STUDENT ACT IN CHINESE, THEN FADE///

A fourth year mathematics student who joined the 
protest says students wouldn't be so angry if the 
authorities hadn't blocked the information.  But even 
now, he says, the officials are still cutting 
themselves off and being evasive.

The students say they merely want to express their 
grief over the lost life of a fellow classmate.  But 
university officials told them Tuesday they weren't 
allowed to hold a public memorial service for Ms. Qiu. 
In an extraordinary display of sorrow and anger, 
students put up posters, white flowers made of paper 
and poems dedicated to their slain classmate.  One 
poem said : "We'll light a candle in our hearts to 
warm your lonely soul".  Another poster called for the 
resignation of the head of Beijing's security bureau, 
saying "we can't stay silent anymore.  We must shout 
out loudly."  

            ///STUDENT NOISES, THEN FADE///

By midnight Wednesday, the students were still 
demanding greater security measures and more dialogue 
with university officials.  They said they want to be 
allowed to communicate freely through their campus 
internet bulletin service, which was shut down by the 
university early in the day.  And most importantly, 
they want a formal apology from the University 
President over what they call the bad attitude of the 
administration.

            ///PRESIDENT ACT IN CHINESE, THEN FADE///

The University President issued a five-minute 
broadcast , which was repeated over and over for more 
than an hour, pleading with students to preserve the 
stability of the campus.  And when that didn't calm 
the students, he came out to talk with them in person.  
But the students said he didn't meet all of their 
demands, and at midnight Wednesday,hundreds of 
students were still waiting outside the main 
administration building, hoping for more dialogue with 
campus officials.

            ///STUDENT ACT IN CHINESE, THEN FADE///

One student stood on a platform and asked the crowd  
:" If this problem isn't resolved tonight, what will 
we do tomorrow ? " - "Boycott classes", yelled some of 
the students in response.

Throughout the two days of protests, none of the 
student leaders have identified themselves by name.  

            ///STUDENT ACT IN CHINESE, THEN FADE///

One student explains : "we don't have a formal 
representative, because everyone is too afraid".
(Signed)

 
NEB/LHF/PT 



24-May-2000 15:47 PM EDT (24-May-2000 1947 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
.