CNN Coverage Debates Democrat Beijing China 'turns black' when discussing Hong Kong and Xinjiang: CNN's live broadcast of the Democratic debate was apparently reduced to 'black' in Beijing as candidates began talking about the protests in Hong Kong and the Chinese autonomous region of Xinjiang, where millions of Muslims are being held in detention centers.

CNN international correspondent Will Ripley tweeted a photo of a television set that had been darkened during the debate.

"CNN's live broadcast of the Democratic presidential debate turns black in Beijing," Ripley wrote. "Candidates were asked about China's human rights record and the mass detention of Muslim minorities in Xinjiang."

The source contacted Ripley to find out more about the apparent disruption.

CNN Coverage Debates Democrat Beijing China

It was notable that the candidates were asked this foreign policy question, and former Vice President Joe Biden and others did not stop. Biden used the term "concentration camps" to describe Xinjiang's vast network of detention centers.

Satellite images reviewed by the Washington-based Turquestan National Awakening Movement earlier this month identified at least 465 detention centers, work camps and alleged jails in Xinjiang. Interviews with people held at the camps reveal reports of beatings and food deprivation, as well as medical experiments with prisoners.

China has recognized the existence of some "re-education camps"

China has online censored all mentions and videos of a rare protest at a university after the institution deleted the phrase, "freedom of thought," from its letter.

Fudan University's new statute in Shanghai, one of China's most prestigious, now includes a promise to "serve the government of the Communist Party" and push "academic independence" under "patriotism", which leads to the entanglement between students and teachers.

The changes came to light on Tuesday when the country’s Ministry of Education said it had approved similar modifications for three universities.

In a matter of hours, amendments to Fudan's bylaws were trending online, with at least one hashtag generating at least one million views. The clips also circulated online showing students organizing a flash mob protest on campus, singing the school anthem, which includes the phrase "freedom of thought."

Fudan's teachers also went online to express their alarm. Qu Weiguo, a foreign language teacher, said he was "very surprised" to hear of the changes, which he said were made without consulting the faculty.

But soon after, mentions and online publications were removed by China's active-government censors, who commonly block news and information and remove any dissenting comments from the Internet.

Since Xi Jinping, leader of the Chinese Communist Party, came to power in 2012, China has been engaging in widespread online repression and in civil society in a campaign that has provoked a nationwide chill.

Mr. Xi has called on the Party for loyalty from the country's universities, and some institutions have even created departments to eradicate ideological "weakness".

All of this has led to a hardening of academic freedoms: Teachers who are not in the party line have been suspended. It is also believed that the informants are being watched by both foreigners and Chinese.

On Wednesday night, the university released an online statement saying the changes to the bylaws were made "in strict accordance with legal procedures."

Beijing has remained in tight control over universities since the student-led protests at Tiananmen Square in 1989, which ended in a bloodshed after the government ordered the military to suppress the uprising.