China's state media support protests on US campuses but not at home

A student protester parades a Palestinian flag outside the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University in New York, April 30, 2024. (Mary Altaffer/Pool via Reuters)

State media in China, where social protest is strongly discouraged or punished, have been vocally supporting the pro-Palestinian protests on U.S. campuses while decrying what they describe as a heavy-handed crackdown on free speech by authorities.