China sets up patrol to check kissing students: Lesson for LUMS?

By M.A.N. (A LUMS Alumnus)

Given the recent uproar about the so called public display of affection (whatever that means) in LUMS, the following example of morality (or display) control at a university in East China might be of interest to the LUMS administration.

Kissing checks on China students

By Chris Hogg
BBC News, Shanghai

Students at a Chinese university face a 'kissing patrol' crackdown

Students at a university in eastern China have posted complaints on the internet about kissing patrols set up by the authorities.

The patrols at Nanjing Forestry University watch out for couples who are hugging, kissing or sitting too close to each other.

The university says the patrols will "clean up the atmosphere" on campus.
Teachers supervise the patrols, which are staffed by fellow student volunteers working two-hour shifts.

On the college's internet bulletin boards one woman describes how she and her boyfriend were sitting together when a patrol spotted them. The patrol member got behind them and kept coughing until they moved apart.

Others complain that the university authorities should spend their time managing the institution, not regulating young lovers, and speak of their shame at the publicity the crackdown has generated.

In one of the complaints, student Gui Ya, says: "The news is spreading over the internet. It's like being naked and shown to the public."

And a colleague with the user name Raymondxiao moans: "The action is a shame. The university is not going to be a real university."

Another bulletin board complaint from Yi Fu Jia Da Po Tou says: "There are no human rights on this issue."

Volunteers who turn a blind eye to an infraction are said to face penalties themselves, although calls to the university to confirm this went unanswered. Source