Peking University to relax entry policy after professor's campus chase

Peking University is revising its entry policy in response to widespread attention garnered by an article by Li Zhi, an associate professor from the School of Engineering, who detailed jumping over a gate to enter the campus while being pursued by a guard.

In the article, Li said he had refused to use facial recognition or show his ID card at the campus gate. The professor insisted that the current policy was inconvenient and a security risk.

Li's article sparked a debate on the openness of Chinese universities. Some people argued that universities should be more open to the public, while others said that security concerns justified the current restrictions.

In response, Peking University said it is working on a new system that will allow visitors to enter its campus in a variety of ways. The new system is expected to be in place next year, the Beijing Daily reported on Thursday.

The university suggested that it will also be more flexible in its approach to visitor requests. For example, it will consider requests for group tours and special events. Currently, visitors are required to make an appointment seven days in advance through an app. And appointments are only available during holidays and weekends.

It is working to meet the needs of visitors during the winter holiday season. This includes increasing the number of visitors allowed on campus. The university also said it will provide training for its security guards on how to provide better service to visitors.

Peking University began checking IDs at the entrance in 2008. Before that, the university was completely open, and anyone could enter freely.

However, starting in 2019, gates and facial recognition devices were installed at the campus entrance. Even faculty entering the gate must undergo facial recognition or ID verification.

Since July, universities nationwide, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Nanjing University, Wuhan University, and Huazhong University of Science and Technology, have been open to public, albeit on advanced reservations, after their campus tour reservation channels were closed for nearly four years, according to thepaper.cn.