Lockdowns, An Apartment Fire, And More Are What Sparked A Large-Scale Protest In China
A throng in Shanghai chanted, “Down with the Chinese Communist Party, down with Xi Jinping,” as protests against the zero-Covid policy expanded to other cities due to a record number of Covid cases in the nation. To oppose the government in silence, residents in these cities are carrying flowers and blank pieces of paper.
Ten people were murdered in a high-rise building fire in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region, which sparked massive public unrest. Frustration increased as claims that the lockdown delayed rescue efforts were made based on allegedly false videos of the incident. Officials from Urumqi held a news conference to refute the claims but to no avail.
According to Reuters, many of Urumqi’s four million people have been subject to some of the nation’s longest lockdowns and have been prohibited from leaving their homes for up to 100 days.
Following the fire in Urumqi, protests against President Xi’s zero-Covd policy have been held in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Chengdu, and Lanzhou. Since Xi Jinping took office a decade ago, mainland China has not seen a wave of civil disobedience like this one.
Protests in Shanghai
A candlelight vigil for the victims of the apartment fire in Shanghai on 26 November turned into a demonstration against Covid curbs, with the crowd calling for the lockdown to be lifted.
A day later, hundreds of protesters engaged in violence with police, branding the Covid policy a game that was not grounded in truth or science. They emphasized that the Xinjiang apartment fire pushed people too far and demanded fundamental human rights.
A gathering was also staged in the same location, according to an eyewitness who spoke to AFP, with demonstrators holding flowers and blank pieces of paper to hold what appeared to be a silent protest.
By dusk, a long line of police officers in yellow jackets cordoned off the streets where the protests had taken place. By midnight, the area had calmed down despite being overrun by hundreds of police officers and dozens of cars in some spots lining both sides of the road.
We want freedom, not COVID testing
At least 1,000 protesters in two separate groups were collected along Beijing’s 3rd Ring Road near the Liangma River in the wee hours of November 28 and refused to disperse.
Blank sheets
Hundreds of locals in Wuhan, where the pandemic first appeared three years ago, broke through metal barricades, toppled Covid testing tents, and demanded an end to strict lockdowns.
Other cities where there has been unrest include Lanzhou, where demonstrators reportedly destroyed testing booths. Although none had tested positive, protesters claimed that they were still placed under lockdown.
University protests
Around 200 to 300 students demonstrated against lockdowns earlier in the day at Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University, a witness who wished to remain unidentified told AFP.
Students were heard yelling, “Democracy and the rule of law, freedom of expression,” in a video that appeared to have been filmed in the same place but was shortly removed.
On 27 November, China reported 39,506 Covid-19 cases, a record number but insignificant when compared to the number of cases in the West at the time of the pandemic.
A growing sense of resentment among the populace at the government’s zero-tolerance policy toward the virus served as the backdrop for the protests in China. The public is becoming increasingly irritated with the zero-Covid policy as they grow weary of sudden lockdowns, protracted quarantines, and widespread testing campaigns.
Another flashpoint has been the World Cup in Qatar when images of supporters without masks sparked fury on social media. According to AFP, China’s state television has begun to replace close-ups of fans with images of players or officials.
News Mania Desk
