A rare protest has been held at one of China's most prestigious universities after authorities dropped the phrase "freedom of thought" from the school's charter and replaced it with a pledge to follow the Communist Party's leadership.

Key points: The changes were announced earlier this week and also affect other universities

The changes were announced earlier this week and also affect other universities Students later gathered to sing their college anthem, which mentions "freedom of thought"

Students later gathered to sing their college anthem, which mentions "freedom of thought" The issue was a trending topic on Chinese social media, but many posts have now been censored

The changes at Fudan University in Shanghai, which is considered one of China's more liberal institutions, came to light on Tuesday when the education ministry said it had approved alterations for three universities.

The new charter said the university would "weaponise the minds of teachers and students using Xi Jinping's socialism ideology with characteristics of China in the new era".

A video circulating on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon showed a group of Fudan University students singing their college anthem, which also includes the phrase "freedom of thought", during their lunch break.

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Students at the university confirmed to Reuters that the protest event had taken place.

Like the official school charter, that song — which predates the Communist Party's 70-year rule in China — was also changed to a new one celebrating Communist jargon.

Within hours, the Fudan amendments were trending on China's Twitter-like social media platform Weibo, with one hashtag viewed more than a million times — however, many comments on the topic have since been censored.

"If I may dare to ask those who initiated the amendment of the Fudan University charter, how do you expect our generation of Fudan people to face our ancestors?" said one Weibo user.

Telephone calls to Fudan University's press department to seek comment went unanswered. China's Ministry of Education did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment.

The revisions come as Beijing is grappling with anti-government protests in Hong Kong that have involved many students.

Push for more Party control

Some writing online said the amendments pointed to a broadening of Communist Party control on campus. ( Reuters: Aly Song )

Student protests have been rare in China since the violent crushing of a pro-democracy campaign led by students at Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Some of the commentators on Weibo discussed how the amendments pointed to an expansion of Communist Party control, with the revised charter saying that Fudan's "party committee is the core of the university" and would be responsible for setting its direction and making major decisions.

Since President Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, China has tightened controls on the internet and various aspects of civil society in a campaign that has seen increasing censorship and shrinking space for protests, including on campuses.

Wu Qiang, an independent political commentator in Beijing, told the ABC this latest enforcement of Communist doctrine had sent a shockwave through academic circles.

"I believe the protests about these changes won't end soon — maybe this anger will spread to other universities," he said.

"It really is heartbreaking for Chinese intellectuals."

Fudan is ranked 109 globally in the Times Higher Education's 2020 World University Rankings.

The two other universities that made changes to their charters were Shaanxi Normal University and Nanjing University, according to documents published by the Ministry of Education, which showed that it had approved the changes on December 2.

Their revised charters similarly included references to strengthening the leadership of the Communist Party at the universities.

ABC/Reuters