Hundreds across China took to the streets on Sunday protesting against the nation’s stringent Zero-Covid policy.
In the wake of a deadly fire that many have chalked up to the two-plus year of strict lockdowns, the “rare outpouring” of anger took place across major Chinese cities.
Watch | WION Fineprint | China: Anger mounts over Zero-Covid policy, protests break out in Beijing, Shanghai
As per Reuters, in Shanghai demonstrators and police clashed as protests continued for the third day.
Witnesses and videos posted on social media show one large group chanting “Down with the Chinese Communist Party, down with Xi Jinping” in an unusual public protest against the government.
Unverified videos on Twitter and other social media platforms show people chanting “End the lockdown!”
The Hong Kong Democracy Council took to Twitter in support of the protestors and wrote “#HongKongers are closely following the protests in #China & salute the brave Chinese who’ve come out. #DownWithXiJinping #DownWithTheCCP. We agree. The fate of #HongKong is bound up with the fate of China.”
Similar videos from Chengdu show people holding up blank sheets of paper in protest and chanting “We don’t want lifelong rulers. We don’t want emperors,” a reference to Xi, who has scrapped presidential term limits.
Residents of Wuhan, where the pandemic began three years ago, also took to the streets, smashing through metal barricades, tearing down COVID testing tents, and demanding that lockdowns be lifted.
In Lanzhou, in the northwest, residents on Saturday toppled COVID staff tents and destroyed testing stations, according to posts on social media. Although none had tested positive, as per a Reuters report protesters claimed that they were still placed under lockdown.
Meanwhile, images and videos shared on social media show that on Sunday, scores of individuals participated in a nonviolent demonstration against COVID restrictions at Beijing’s esteemed Tsinghua University while singing the national anthem.
Widespread public protest is uncommon in China, where dissent has been largely suppressed under Xi, forcing citizens to vent their rage on social media, where they must play cat-and-mouse with censors.
Despite the fact that much of the rest of the world has eased most restrictions, China has maintained Xi’s zero-COVID policy. China’s case counts had reached record highs for days, although being low by international standards; on Saturday, there were approximately 40,000 new infections, which led to yet another round of lockdowns in various locations across the nation.
Beijing has defended the measure as important to save lives and as a safeguard against overtaxing the healthcare system. Officials however have vowed to keep up the restrictions.
(With inputs from agencies)
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