‘If I disappear’: Chinese students make farewell messages amid crackdowns

He was the leader of the Marxist student association at the elite Peking University, a communist of conscience who defied the Communist Party of China. [With wider crackdowns on religion, Xi’s China seeks to put stamp on faith]
The story of Peking University’s Marxist club — as told by four members who remain secretly active and spoke on the condition of anonymity for their safety, their supporters, and a trove of writings and videos left by activists anticipating arrest — illustrates the anxious political atmosphere in China, where idealistic students who embrace the party’s own ideology can be suppressed just like any other political threat. Qiu Zhanxuan, the former leader of the Peking University Marxist society, had a political awakening when he arrived at the university, the alma mater for Chinese Communist revolutionaries including Li Dazhao.

Source: www.washingtonpost.com