Chinese Students Put Protest on Wheels : Thousands on Bikes Jam Streets to Win Government Concession

Thousands of students bicycled to major media and government offices today to protest censorship, and officials announced their first policy change in response to demands made in nearly a month of pro-democracy protests.

The Ministry of Supervision said today it will allow more open news reporting of corruption cases. It said the move was “prompted by the recent demands of Beijing University students to crack down on corruption”--the first acknowledgement that the government was giving ground to the students and workers who have protested since mid-April.

Newspapers frequently report corruption cases, but many Chinese believe that thousands of officials who are well-placed or well-protected are not being investigated. The state Xinhua News Agency reported a national survey that found at least half of all state-owned businesses evade taxes, costing the government $3.32 billion in 1988.

Today’s protest by more than 5,000 students came a day after government officials received a petition signed by more than 1,000 Chinese journalists seeking press freedom.

Thousands of students in the northern city of Taiyuan also took to the streets today in what Xinhua described as “massive demonstrations.” Xinhua said the students held sit-ins in front of a hotel and the headquarters of the Shanxi provincial government, demanding dialogue with the governor.

The Beijing demonstration was largely to support the journalists’ petition.

“We’re riding bicycles today because we’re too tired to walk,” said a history student who attended four recent marches along the 10-mile route from the nation’s top schools to Tiananmen Square downtown.

About 1,000 protesters pedaled out of Beijing University, the country’s most prestigious, and were joined by students from about six other schools.

Police Cleared Way

Police, who in previous demonstrations tried to block protesters, helped clear the way for the bicyclists as traffic backed up for several miles.

Protesters filled all six lanes of the street in front of their first stop, China Central Television headquarters, and shouted slogans critical of the government-controlled media.

“The People’s Daily cheats the people!” they chanted, referring to the ruling Communist Party’s official newspaper. “The press must speak the truth!” they yelled.