"Something big has happened! The 8964 student movement has erupted again in China!" Hu Xingmu TV's Xiaoxing excitedly reported the "latest news." On June 12, 2025, Hebei Foreign Studies University saw the outbreak of a student movement dubbed the "June 12th Uprising," with thousands of students gathering on the campus playground late at night, their anger directed at the school's decision to postpone the vacation.
What exactly happened? Let's take a look at the truth behind this turmoil!
"June 12th Uprising": Spark and Outbreak
Late into the night of June 12, 2025, the playground of Hebei Foreign Studies University was no longer a stage for youth, but a battlefield of anger. Thousands of students held up lit-up phones, shouting "Vacation! Vacation!" Their voices echoed through the night sky. A student in white, carrying a megaphone, stood in the center of the crowd, leading the chants, and was affectionately dubbed "Thermos Man" by the students, becoming a symbol of the protest.
The catalyst for this "June 12th Uprising" was the school's last-minute decision to postpone the summer vacation. The original plan to start the vacation at the end of June was delayed until mid-July because the Art College needed to prepare for performances for foreign guests visiting in July. This sudden decision ignited the students' long-simmering discontent.
Postponing Vacation Just the Tip of the Iceberg? Students Accuse the School of High-Pressure Management
Students complained on video platforms that the school's action not only disrupted their summer plans but may also be related to commercial interests. One student wrote online, "The school store and cafeteria want to earn an extra half-month's worth of money, so we have to waste our time in school with them." They not only demanded a normal vacation but also hoped to abolish high-pressure management measures such as morning and evening self-study and dormitory checks with point deductions, seeking a normal university life.
As the incident escalated, students began to organize protests spontaneously. On the evening of June 12, the protest escalated. Thousands of students gathered on the school playground, shouting "Vacation! Vacation!" to express their dissatisfaction with the school's decision. On-site videos showed a student in white, holding a megaphone, giving a passionate speech, calling on students to unite and defend their rights. During the protest, school leaders came forward to talk to the students, but their attitude was perfunctory, only saying that they would consider the students' demands, without promising to change the vacation plan.
After the protest, the students named the action the "June 12th Uprising" and nicknamed the student who led the chants "Thermos Man," meaning he warmed people's hearts like a thermos, igniting the spark of resistance. They continued to speak out on online platforms, calling on more students to join the protest and persevere until the school changed its decision. However, related videos and posts were quickly deleted, and the voices of the protesters faced suppression.
University Life Under High-Pressure Management: More Than Just Wanting a Vacation, Wanting Freedom
The root of the "June 12th Uprising" is far more than just one postponed vacation, but the long-standing high-pressure management of the Chinese education system. Hebei Foreign Studies University is known for its strict management, and students are bound by systems such as morning and evening self-study and dormitory checks with point deductions every day, and their free space is compressed to the extreme. A student from the school complained, "We not only want a vacation, but also want to abolish easy courses and dormitory checks with point deductions, we want a normal university life!" This demand reflects students' dissatisfaction with high-pressure education and also reveals the suppression of youth by the education system.
In recent years, Chinese higher education has faced tremendous pressure. In 2023, the number of students taking the National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao) reached 12.91 million, a record high, but the number of places in quality universities is very limited. The students of Hebei Foreign Studies University mostly come from ordinary families and bear heavy academic and family expectations. In order to improve management and employment rates, the school adopts military-style management and strictly controls students' behavior. Morning and evening self-study, dormitory checks with point deductions, and compulsory participation in easy courses with no substantial content have become the norm. Students are squeezed like exam machines, and mental health problems are becoming increasingly serious.
According to a report by the China Youth and Children Research Center in 2023, the incidence of anxiety and depression among college students is as high as 28.7% and 16.4% respectively, and high-pressure management is an important cause. The decision to postpone the vacation became the last straw that broke the camel's back. Students believe that the school sacrificed the rights of all students for the performance of a few students in the Art College, which reflects the arbitrariness and indifference of the managers. What is even more infuriating is that the school's decision may be linked to commercial interests. Some students pointed out that the turnover of the school store and cafeteria may increase due to the postponed vacation, and students are being used as tools to make money. This disregard for students' rights ignited the anger of the "June 12th Uprising."
Deep Crisis: Collapse of the Education System and Social Trust
Behind the "June 12th Uprising" is the deep crisis of the education system and social governance. The arbitrary decision-making of Hebei Foreign Studies University exposed the school's hostile attitude towards students. The school not only failed to communicate with the students but also dealt with the protest perfunctorily, trying to quell the situation with delays. This stability-maintenance mentality is a microcosm of the Chinese education system. The school no longer focuses on nurturing people, but on control.
The supervision of local governments and education departments over schools is only a formality, condoning the spread of similar high-pressure management. The deeper crisis is the collapse of social trust. After the incident, the students' protest posts on online platforms spread rapidly but were quickly deleted. The students' voices were suppressed, the truth was covered up, and the protesters faced the risk of being purged.
The economic downturn has exacerbated social injustice. In 2024, China's youth unemployment rate once exceeded 20%. Children from ordinary families regard education as the only way to change their fate. However, when schools become machines of oppression, the light of hope for education is also extinguished. Students at Hebei Foreign Studies University revealed on online platforms that the school not only charges high tuition fees but also extracts the hard-earned money of students' parents through dormitory checks with point deductions and compulsory consumption. Students shouting "Withdraw! Refund!" is not only dissatisfaction with the outside world, but also a desperate cry against educational injustice.
"June 12th Uprising": Echoes of History and Challenges of the Future
The scene of the "June 12th Uprising" is reminiscent of the student movement in Tiananmen Square in 1989. 36 years ago, hundreds of thousands of students took to the streets, shouting slogans such as "Fight corruption, demand democracy." Their demands were not to overthrow the system, but to hope that the country would be fairer and freer.
Compared with 8964, the "June 12th Uprising" is smaller in scale and the demands are more specific, but the core is the same: anger at oppression and thirst for rights. Students gathered on the playground, shouting "Vacation!" trying to change the school's decision with their shouts, and these actions echoed the courage of the youth 36 years ago.
However, the lessons of history also remind us that the road to resistance is full of thorns. The failure of 8964 stemmed from the dispersion of power and the cruelty of repression. Today's "June 12th Uprising" faces tighter surveillance and censorship. Posts are deleted, protesters may be purged, and the future of the student movement is full of challenges.
Awakening and Action: Young People, Stand Up!
The light of the "June 12th Uprising" illuminates the darkness of the Chinese education system and ignites the hope of youth awakening. The students' protests are not wanton destruction, but a legitimate resistance to injustice. Their actions forced the school to face the students' demands, although the response was perfunctory and failed to change the decision.
History tells us that resistance is the starting point for change.
Many students called, "We not only want a vacation, but also want to abolish morning and evening self-study, abolish easy courses and dormitory checks with point deductions." Students need smarter strategies: record the truth, use mobile phones to film injustice; spread information, share videos through anonymous accounts; unite and help each other, support every oppressed student.
The "June 12th Uprising" is a microcosm of tens of millions of Chinese youth. The students' shouts stem from the school's arbitrariness, the system's decay, and the injustice of education. Their stories remind us that when schools become machines of oppression, education is no longer a ladder of hope, but an abyss of despair.
In China today, prices are soaring, unemployment is rampant, and social security is on the verge of collapse. High-pressure education is just one cut of the system's decay. From the exorbitant drug prices in hospitals to the 996 exploitation of enterprises, from the government's lies and propaganda to the iron curtain of censorship, ordinary people are trapped in a prison of monitoring and lies.
Some say that the Chinese system is too powerful and the youth cannot resist. This pessimistic view is an accomplice to slavery. I ask, which freedom in the world has fallen from the sky?
The protest of the "June 12th Uprising" proved the power of unity. The students' shouts awakened the sleeping hope.
Young people, wake up! Start from the campus and take action. Use mobile phones to record every injustice, use words to spread every cry. Every video, every post, is a puncture of lies. Unite, support the victims around you, and protect every oppressed student. Dare to say no to the school's prevarication; dare to stand up to the system's oppression!
The victory of the "June 12th Uprising" belongs to every student who shouted "Vacation." The future of China belongs to every youth who fights for freedom.
The playground of Hebei Foreign Studies University has become a microcosm of the anger of Chinese youth in 2025. This "June 12th Uprising" is not only for a summer vacation, but also a collective shout against high-pressure education, the school's arbitrariness, and social injustice. The students' protests ignited the spark of resistance and tore open the system's fig leaf.
Their stories remind us that when schools become prisons of oppression, when the system is based on control, any field can become a breeding ground for injustice. This society has long been riddled with holes, education stifles the freedom of youth, and the system deprives people of their dignity. But there is still hope in despair, as long as we do not remain silent and do not retreat, the anger of the "June 12th Uprising" can gather into a prairie fire.
The spirit of 8964 has never gone far, it is reborn in every struggle. Today, we fight for vacation; tomorrow, we fight for freedom; we fight for the future of the next generation!
Young people, stand up! Let the cries of the "June 12th Uprising" resound throughout China! Let the oppressive schools tremble, and let the decaying system collapse! Freedom is not a slogan, it is the tomorrow we exchange with courage and sacrifice. Take action, from the playground to the streets, from truth to justice!
| Event | Anxiety Incidence | Depression Incidence |
|---|---|---|
| College Students' Mental Health | 28.7% | 16.4% |