Schools and universities across much of China have closed due to the coronavirus outbreak and are being forced to hold classes online for the foreseeable future.
Zoom in: The video platforms being used are closely monitored by censors, and some teachers are finding their lessons unceremoniously ended when they hit on controversial topics, the AP reports.
- "Biology courses have been blocked for 'pornographic content.' History and politics classes are among the most vulnerable; subjects such as the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward are regularly censored in classes and online discussions."
- Louis Wang, a middle school history teacher in northeast China, said his workload has ballooned because of an arduous approval process for online classes. “Every word that is spoken in a video recording must be pre-approved,” Wang said.
The bottom line: This is one more way in which the coronavirus is putting China's authoritarian system to the test.
