China: Video Shows Anger, Frustration of Chinese Protesters Over Xi Jinping's Zero-COVID Policy

A degree of public rage not often seen in China in recent years was on show at rallies in Shanghai and other cities during the past week. Even less often is the shouting of phrases like "Xi Jinping, step down. Communist Party, step down."

Few people likely expected that the tight "zero Covid" restrictions the Chinese government put in place to attempt to control COVID-19 when the virus first appeared in the nation over three years ago would still be in place today, with record numbers of cases having been reported over the previous few days.

China Protests Video

The protests in Shanghai, as well as those at universities in Beijing and Nanjing, are the most recent indications that the anger caused by the COVID-19 restrictions is reaching a boiling point, The Independent reported.

One of the initiating events was a tower block fire in the Xinjiang city of Urumqi, which was followed by demonstrations in which locals blamed the lockdown restrictions for the fire's 10 fatalities.

Although the authorities in Urumqi have vowed to "establish order" by gradually lifting the limits, they have disputed that the COVID-19 restrictions were to blame for the fatalities. The AFP news agency reported that hundreds of Tsinghua University students demonstrated on their campus on Sunday, chanting "freedom will prevail" and demanding an end to lockdowns.

The gathering comes after protests overnight in Nanjing, a city in eastern China, a university, and Shanghai, the country's largest city and financial hub. The gathering on Sunday started at 11:30am (03:30 GMT), according to a Tsinghua student who spoke to AFP, when "students started putting up placards at the door of the canteen, then more and more people joined."

"Now there are 200 to 300 people," the student said, "and we yelled 'freedom will prevail' while singing the national anthem and the Internationale." Hundreds of people gathered in Shanghai at midnight on Wulumqi Road to pay their respects to 10 people who died in an apartment building fire in the Xinjiang region's capital city of Urumqi.

Per Al Jazeera, they carried flowers, candles, and signs that read, "Urumqi, November 24, those who died rest in peace."

China's Anti-lockdown Protests Spread to More Cities

The killings have generated intense public outrage, and many internet users have speculated that the high-rise building's tenants were unable to flee in time because it was partially shut down. Officials from the city, however, have denied the assertion.

Although the government has denied the accusation, many individuals believe that COVID-19 restrictions stopped the residents of the building from evacuating or delayed rescue operations.

Many Chinese, however, have accounts of being confined at home after over three years of restrictions, with their doors occasionally being wired, welded, or blockaded. This spring, Shanghai was subjected to a tough lockdown.

Only days after declaring that COVID-19 tests would not frequently be required, numerous communities have recently started requiring them once more on a regular basis.

Per NY Times, many Chinese have long regarded limits as a necessary cost of preventing widespread disease and fatalities. However, public tolerance has decreased as other countries have resumed living more normally, in part due to access to more potent immunizations.

Only one month after being elected to a third term as party leader, the outpouring has put Xi Jinping under additional strain as HNGN first reported. Censors have worked rapidly to remove protest-related images and videos.

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China, Xi Jinping