At Beijing’s prestigious Peking University is a long, unassuming stretch of freestanding information boards that has become one of the most heavily monitored areas on campus. At least five security cameras are trained on the boards and a security guard sits opposite keeping watch.

The intensity of surveillance in this quiet corner of the campus is a reminder of how little has changed in the 29 years since the democracy protests in Tiananmen Square that ended with the death of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of protesters in Beijing.

The boards became a beacon for those seeking greater democracy during that time when students hung “big character” posters demanding political change. This year, they became the venue for new protests when feminist activists stuck posters of their own over the signboards to protest against decades of university inaction on alleged sexual assault cases. Their action prompted the installation of two extra security cameras.