To prevent “ideological contamination” as the summer holidays approach, it has been reported that several regions in China, including Henan, Shenyang, and Gansu, have issued emergency notices to inspect the participation of primary and secondary school students in overseas study tours. The notices indicate that a comprehensive investigation will be conducted into the “potential ideological risks” of these programs, with a focus on rectifying content that “promotes Western political systems and glorifies Western civilization.”
According to a report by Taiwanese media outlet United Daily News, the official Weibo account of the Education Bureau in Linxia City, Gansu, announced that the local authorities have submitted a report on the inspection of overseas study tours. On social media platforms, parents of students in mainland China have also shared school-wide notifications, reminding everyone to approach overseas study tours and similar activities with caution.
A red-headed document from the Henan Provincial Department of Education circulating on Bilibili and Sina Weibo shows that, in order to implement the Ministry of Education’s requirements, local education and cultural tourism departments must collaborate to conduct a comprehensive investigation of “overseas study tours” involving primary and secondary school students. Simultaneously, a thorough inspection and rectification of the “potential ideological risks” of such programs will be carried out, with resolute actions taken in accordance with laws and regulations, and with enhanced judgment and regulatory management.
The notice dated July 10 also mentions that primary and secondary schools planning to conduct study tours must submit their proposed plans for approval by the education department. The notice urges schools to remind parents to carefully consider overseas study tours, “cultural exchanges,” “English learning,” “summer camps,” and other activities. Another online notice from the Shenyang Municipal Education Bureau also indicates the need to “strengthen ideological risk prevention and control” and enhance the regulatory management of overseas study tour programs for primary and secondary school students.
The self-media public account “ATT Research” posted on July 14 that according to social media posts, parents in at least Shanghai, Gansu, Hebei, and Guangxi have received similar inspection notices.
On July 8, a Shanghai parent shared a recent mass inspection notice from their child’s homeroom teacher, which stated, “On behalf of the school, we remind everyone to approach overseas study tours with caution and to avoid enrolling children in self-organized ‘volunteer teaching and study’ activities. If there are similar situations, please inform the school through the homeroom teacher promptly.”
The parent added a comment, “Although I have always approached overseas study tours cautiously, this is the first time I’ve seen an official announcement. What happened? Does anyone know?” In the comments section of the post, a parent from Shanxi commented on July 12 that they had received two notifications from the school, which even named a specific study tour organization, advising parents to contact the homeroom teacher urgently if they had participated, “I don’t know what happened.”