From “Halloween Witch Hunts” to “Student Night Rides”: What’s Driving the CCP to the Brink?

In November 2024, tens of thousands of university students from Zhengzhou, Henan, rode their bikes at night to Kaifeng, with some students waving banners for "freedom." (Video screenshot)

[People News] Recently, a wave of university students in Zhengzhou launched the mass "Night Ride to Kaifeng" event, sparking similar actions in Beijing, Tianjin, Hubei, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Anhui, and Shaanxi. The CCP responded with panic: locking down campuses, blocking roads, banning walking, and pressuring students to write self-criticisms. These actions ignited a fresh wave of student backlash.

Following the tearing down of the back wall at Anyang University in Henan, a new satirical song and video, “Night Ride to Kaifeng,” circulated online. Students sing, “Party, dear mother, we didn’t say anything bad about you, nor did we dare to curse you. Don’t panic; we’re just going to Kaifeng to eat buns and chat...Don’t worry, Kaifeng buns are big, and once we’ve eaten, we’ll head back to school.”

The reference to buns (baozi) brings to mind Xi Jinping’s public visit where he ate the famous “Qingfeng buns,” a symbol of CCP nationalism. What’s so alarming to the CCP about students wanting to eat buns and chat with friends? The slogans they shout—“Youth is priceless, live for the moment”—aren’t exactly calls for revolution. Why, then, does the “Party serving the people wholeheartedly” feel so threatened?

Some universities in Henan quoted the provincial education department, warning students: “Certain anti-social or foreign hostile elements may have infiltrated the cycling teams...this has become a political movement, and if you participate, your future is ruined.”

Students expressed frustration: “Our internet access is blocked, so we can’t access foreign sites, and even calling abroad is nearly impossible. Foreigners live better lives than we do; why would they come here for a night ride? Do you know any foreigners? Introduce us; we’d like to see the world. Why does the government see everyone, foreign or domestic, as the enemy?”

News spread that some universities had begun summoning students for questioning and punishing those upset with the restrictions. Penalties ranged from writing self-reflections to threats of expulsion. Teachers who previously lectured about “rule of law, freedom of speech and assembly, democracy, and human rights” have now shed that facade, enforcing the CCP’s autocratic grip. “Determined to eliminate cycling gatherings at all costs,” they proclaim, once again undermining Xi Jinping’s promotion of “confidence in the path, theory, system, and culture.”

None of this should be surprising. When the CCP senses its power might be threatened, it spares no effort to eliminate opposition, even supernatural threats.

For instance, on Halloween just over ten days ago, police in Shanghai and Hangzhou conducted sweeps for people dressed as ghosts, demons, Stalin, Lenin, the Monkey King, and Bodhisattva. Young people dressed as supernatural beings for fun were chased all over town amid screams and shouts. Some netizens noted, “The CCP is the true king of ghosts—hell is empty as the little ghosts are out, while the big ghost is yet to come.”

Even patriotic actions have been deemed subversive. Some night riders were seen waving the national flag and singing “red songs.” Ironically, this crackdown has only turned these activities into acts of rebellion.

In reality, from the Halloween crackdown to the mass night rides, from citizens demanding access to bank deposits to workers demanding unpaid wages, not a single one of these events originally aimed to overthrow the CCP. It is often the CCP’s paranoid preemptive crackdowns that turn them into politically charged events.

With youth unemployment high, college students face an uncertain future and economic decline. Many find brief escapism in these night rides—a way to release pressure and enjoy a fleeting sense of freedom.

In a segment on Lantern Time, Professor Zhang Tianliang said, “Patriotism is political; so is the lack of it. Entertainment is political if it’s not following the CCP’s script.” The night rides appear to be a frivolous escape, but they mask deeper social issues. The uncertain future for graduates amid economic hardship is something the CCP cannot control.

China’s Social Democratic Party Chairman Liu Yinquan noted, “Students are struggling with rising tuition fees amid their families’ declining incomes. Without prospects, a poorly handled incident could be the spark for major unrest.”

Experts suggest that the CCP, knowing its regime is illegitimate, perceives any collective movement as a potential threat to its rule, no matter how trivial. Even weddings or funerals that gather too many people are subject to strict dispersal orders if they don’t comply. The CCP, haunted by its own crimes, has become so irrationally fearful that it’s losing all sense of logic.