In recent days, multiple universities in Jiangsu and other places have experienced cases of college students committing murder. Insiders believe that universities have spent a lot of money to purchase monitoring software, putting extreme pressure on counselors. However, with the economic downturn and students unable to find jobs, there is a deep sense of suppression, leading to increasing conflicts.
On November 16, a indiscriminate knife attack incident occurred at Wuxi Institute of Technology in Jiangsu Province, resulting in at least 8 deaths and 17 injuries. It was reported online that several universities in Suzhou also had students killed, such as the terrifying stabbing incident at Suzhou Industrial Institute of Technology on the 17th. In the video footage from the scene, students were seen screaming in fear as they tried to escape.
According to Mr. Jiang, due to the proximity of Changshu University of Science and Technology to Wuxi, which is just forty to fifty kilometers away by straight line, it only takes an hour’s drive to reach. Since the incident in Wuxi, counselors at Changshu University of Science and Technology have been required to work every day, including weekends, without overtime pay. They are also forced to have “heart-to-heart” conversations with students, write ideological reports, and adhere to rigid formalities.
Mr. Jiang revealed that Changshu University of Science and Technology in Jiangsu had spent a large sum of money to purchase the student system software from Sichuan Zhongwang Shengteng Technology Co., Ltd. This software integrates students’ learning, life activities, such as dining cards, buying water, electricity, etc., effectively serving as monitoring software. However, such high-pressure control measures do not prevent extreme events on campus.
The official website of Changshu University of Science and Technology shows that on January 16, 2024, the school announced the bidding result of the Intelligent Student Work System Development Service Procurement Project, with Sichuan Zhongwang Shengteng Technology Co., Ltd. as the supplier, at a transaction amount of 783,000 yuan. The system deployment and online launch are to be completed within 3 months from the date of contract signing.
Insiders have indicated that many universities have successively purchased this software at great cost. In China, for a private company to infiltrate these state-owned universities indicates strong connections, likely involving high-ranking officials or related parties.
This app is linked to the school’s office system, with a location check-in function. Students have to check in when attending classes in the classroom. If a student is late, it can be monitored. Like Taobao and WeChat, this software also has eavesdropping capabilities; it can detect any “inappropriate remarks” made by students.
For example, at 6:30 in the morning when students do morning exercises, they have to open the mobile app, with their location on the playground as proof to start the exercise. The software can monitor the vibrations, steps, track, and speed of running. For students riding electric bikes, if the system detects cheating by showing that they are actually running or skipping exercises, the counselors may penalize them.
“This software also forces university students to work. If it detects that a student is slacking off, points will be deducted, affecting graduation. Like the student at Wuxi involved in the murder case, the school forced him to intern at a factory where he wasn’t paid or was only given a few hundred yuan,” Mr. Jiang said.
Additionally, the software can monitor the position of the counselors, such as having to supervise the students for exercise at 6 am. Counselors often work overtime until midnight, making it impossible for them to rest.
He further disclosed that the student work system constantly crashes and malfunctions, “it’s just a garbage system, wasting the counselors’ time and energy.” Previously, student work was communicated through WeChat or the school’s internal office system. The student work system surveils every move, fostering competition among the students and forcing the lowest-level counselors in universities to monitor them.
Public information shows that Sichuan Zhongwang Shengteng Technology Co., Ltd. was established in 2016 and is located in Chengdu. It is a technology company specialized in providing integrated student service platforms for universities, student warning platforms, and service development.
As early as 2003, the company collaborated with Southwest Jiaotong University’s student affairs department to develop a comprehensive student system that integrates student information collection and dynamic management, comprehensive assessment, and counselor team building (V1.0 version).
Currently, the system has been upgraded to V4.0, with more than 400 universities, including Sichuan University, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chongqing University, Dalian University of Technology, Ocean University of China, Shandong University (Weihai), Peking University’s medical department, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Harbin Engineering University, Xinjiang University, Qinghai University, using this student work system.
Ms. Wang, an informant, told Epoch Times that Changshu University of Science and Technology is a second-tier institution, and students struggle to find employment. In order to boost the employment rate for reputation’s sake, the school forces counselors to falsify information. State-owned enterprises mostly hire students from top universities, leaving few opportunities for students from second-tier institutions. Those students may opt for further studies, have connections, or background to secure placements. The majority end up unable to find jobs and settle for positions like working at supermarkets or interning at small enterprises or factories, where a fake internship certificate is often provided.
“Like the factory involved in the Wuxi murder incident, it also collaborated with the school. The school arranges buses to take hundreds of students to intern at the factory where they are paid very little or sometimes not at all. The internships are then acknowledged with certificates or false employment agreements. The factory benefits from recruiting cheap labor, the school boosts its employment rate, and the students become free labor, signing agreements they don’t really want,” she explained.
She mentioned that parents hope for their children to enter the system because state-owned enterprises pay decent wages compared to private companies, which either pay poorly or exploit their employees. Newly graduated students have an advantage when applying for government-owned or institutional jobs. They prefer not to sign tripartite agreements or labor contracts. However, the school compels them to do so, with students being coerced as a means to improve the school’s employment rate while actual employment prospects remain bleak.
Mr. Jiang revealed that recently Changshu University of Science and Technology introduced a new counselor evaluation method, sparking protests and dissatisfaction among counselors. Counselors from various departments have lodged complaints with the local discipline inspection department, which resulted in threats from the school, warning against appeals, and retaliatory actions against counselors, such as penalizing them at every turn.
For instance, counselors are docked money if students eat or sleep during class; if students fall victim to scams, it also results in deduction from counselors’ income. Students not wearing helmets while carrying passengers on electric bikes or returning to the dorm late, playing games or smoking, using unauthorized electrical appliances, all lead to deductions from counselors’ salaries.
The school has over ten departments, including admissions, career services, student affairs, publicity department, youth league committee, recruitment department, militia department, anti-fraud department, reward and assistance in nurturing talent department, all of which have the authority to penalize counselors.
“Since the unilateral introduction of counselor assessment by the school in August 2024, all the work from these departments has been shifted to the counselors, as all of it involves matters that may upset the students. For example, in certain Marxist classes that students tend to avoid, counselors are forced to fill in the numbers, essentially compelling students to engage in brainwashing activities. While the leadership leaves work at 4:30 pm, counselors are expected to work until midnight, affecting their health. Salary deductions, arbitrary evaluations, mutual protection amongst officials, all of which have sparked public resentment,” Mr. Jiang emphasized.
For instance, the admissions department ropes in counselors to enroll students. They have to recruit five to six thousand students annually, reaching out to tens of thousands of parents in various cities, confirming information through the system, all managed by the counselors. Even during winter and summer vacations, counselors end up working overtime.
Due to website restrictions (403 Forbidden), the reporter failed to reach Sichuan Zhongwang Shengteng Technology Co., Ltd. via contact. An inquiry was sent to the publicity department of Changshu University of Science and Technology for comment but no response was received at the time of publication.
Mr. Jiang believes that the current high-pressure control measures have led to public anger, causing more conflicts. In recent incidents of school violence, leaders strive for personal advancement and achievements, imposing extreme pressure on the lower levels that surpass their capabilities. Engaging in formalities like filling out various bureaucratic forms or attending brainwashing Marxist conferences has exacerbated resentment and frustration among the grassroots.
Moreover, due to the economic downturn, most students in domestic general universities (second and third tier) are unable to find jobs, leading to profound anxiety and suppression. Subsequently, schools compel students to intern in factories without pay or overtime compensation.
He stated, “There’s a discrepancy in the comparisons between students; those from affluent families enjoy better resources, while those without a job have to work sixteen extra hours per day without pay. Their quality of life plummets, they cannot find partners, becoming objects of scorn among peers. This leads to extreme suppression, feeling victimized by school leadership, prompting retaliatory actions.”