Online poll finds Chinese university students favour alcohol ban on campus

An online opinion poll found that more than 60% of university students within mainland China are in favour an alcohol ban on campus, following reports of deadly alcohol binge drinking in Guangdong and Guangxi provinces.

The poll, conducted by China Youth Daily, the official newspaper of Communist Youth Party, and Wenjuan.com, surveyed 1,986 university students online, and found that 65% students would be in support of an alcohol ban on campus, with 21% actively opposed to a ban.

Among the respondents, 83% said that many students drink on campus and 74.9% said that they had encountered situations in which fellow classmates were drunk, the newspaper reported.

Drinking on campus has become a much debated subject in China following a number of deadly incidents, in which one college student in Guangxi died after binge drinking, and another in southern Guangdong province died of alcohol poisoning after drinking a special concoction of cocktails mixed with six high alcohol proof spirits, the report said.

In response, a few universities introduced new rules to curb alcohol consumption on campus and even off campus.

Xi’an Translation College has now banned its students from indulging in alcohol during any festivals or gatherings and warned of discipline punishment if caught, including expulsion.

An art school in Yunnan threatened to send photos of drunk students to their parents as punishment.

The perceived interference in university life has also drawn a backlash on social media, with many calling it an ironclad control on students’ life.