Authorities across China are cracking down on thousands of college students who took part in mass night-cycling events that commentators said could be seen as a new form of protest against the ruling Chinese Communist Party.
The police department in Henan’s Zhengzhou city issued a warning to students on Nov. 9, following a mass “night ride to Kaifeng” by thousands of young people a day earlier, as a social media video about riding to the city in search of dumplings spawned dozens of copycat outings, eventually expanding to a mass cycle ride that some observers said left the authorities rattled, concerned that it could turn into a political protest like the “white paper” movement two years ago, or Halloween in Shanghai.
Edit: these events are widely reported by diverse news sources:
BBC | CNN | ABC (Australia) | Sky News
If you haven’t seen them you should check out some of the crazy videos of literally tens of thousands of cyclists cycling down the streets together. It’s honestly so beautiful to see and the stories I’ve heard from participants meeting strangers from all over the place was touching. So of course it wouldn’t last, because that’s no longer a controlled environment the government can track properly. And sure it also looks a little dangerous because it’s just sooo many bicycles but come on, safety isn’t usually very high on the government’s priority list. But hey, it sure made history already.