President Xi Jinping was left enraged when protest banners calling for his ouster appeared in Beijing just days before he is scheduled to be re-elected at the 20th session of the country’s ruling Communist Party of China.
A Beijing-based journalist tweeted that the posters carried messages against China’s Zero Covid policy, urging a lockdown and the need for a “revolutionary transformation.” Another banner referred to Xi as a “dictatorial traitor.”
After the videos and pictures spread on social media, the authorities reportedly later took down the banners.
Two protest banners were hung on a #Beijing Third Ring Road bridge today. There was also a fire. The banners opposed Zero #Covid measures, calling for an end to lockdowns, promoting revolutionary change in this country adding “we need to vote; we don’t want to be slaves”. #China https://t.co/Vdb64jjaFv
— Stephen McDonell (@StephenMcDonell) October 13, 2022
The road where the banners had been before they were taken down in Haidian district was seen to be emitting smoke.
“Let us strike from schools and from work and remove the dictatorial traitor Xi Jinping,” one of the slogans according to a media report.
“We don’t want COVID tests, we want to eat; we don’t want lockdowns, we want to be free”, another banner read.
Beijing’s Zero-Covid policy, which relies on quarantines, travel restrictions, and frequent lockdowns, has drawn a lot of criticism, despite the government’s insistence that it has been successful in containing the outbreak.
After the 20th congress, the Chinese people hoped that the zero Covid policy would be lifted. But once the Chinese official media ‘vowed to never lie flat on virus controls’ in an editorial, all of their dreams were dashed. Before the Congress, authorities acted quickly to contain epidemics around the nation and enacted additional lockdowns and regulations in important cities like Shanghai.
The stringent Covid regulations have slowed economic growth, and the real estate collapse is not working in the Jinping government’s favour.
As anticipated, the tight two-five-year tenure limitations imposed by his predecessors to prevent any “danger” of a one-party state being ruled by a single leader will be broken by Jinping’s victory.
Relations between Washington DC, and Beijing have deteriorated under Jinping as a result of China’s hostility against Taiwan. As a result of the skirmishes in 2020 Galwan, ties with neighbouring India are also tense. India joined forces with Australia, Japan, and the US to establish Quad in an effort to counter China’s aggressive behaviour and uphold peace in the Indo-Pacific.
Additionally, China has been charged with grave violations of human rights and the mistreatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
(With inputs from agencies)
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