China’s strict COVID-19 restrictions have angered people as the streets across cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Urumqi, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Wuhan, and various others witnessed a sea of people on streets protesting against President Xi Jinping’s severe zero-Covid policy on Sunday, that has impounded people under lockdown and closed many areas of activities.
The protests on their third day saw frustration levels going high as rebels shouted slogans against Xi Jinping’s signature zero-COVID policy almost three years into the pandemic. The COVID-19 restrictions have also adversely affected the world’s second-largest economy.
Protestors shout slogans against Xi
Protestors in Wuhan were seen shouting, “It started in Wuhan, it will end in Wuhan”, as they forced through metal barricades, destroyed Covid testing huts, and demanded rollback of lockdowns across China. The novel coronavirus was first found during an outbreak in Wuhan in December 2019.
A protestor in the financial hub named Shaun Xiao said, “I’m here because I love my country, but I don’t love my government … I want to be able to go out freely, but I can’t. Our COVID-19 policy is a game and is not based on science or reality.”
Police used pepper spray on 300 protesters after they shouted slogans against Xi Jinping saying, “Xi Jinping, step down”, “Communist Party, step down”, “Unlock Xinjiang, unlock China” and “do not want PCR (tests), want freedom … press freedom”. A huge crowd of protesters fought with the police.
According to the British news agency BBC, Chinese police detained and mistreated one of its reporters who was covering a protest in Shanghai on Sunday before releasing him after several hours.
People were in complete opposition to President Xi’s government’s covid policies that have barred entry into public areas in order to identify separate cases. This is in contrast to other countries which have eased controls and where the virus has become part of normal life.
The protestors also included students on numerous university campuses across China who demonstrated over the weekend. In the wee hours of Monday, Beijing’s 3rd Ring Road near the Liangma River witnessed at least 1,000 protestors refusing to disperse.
People blame lockdowns for deaths during the fire incident
Ten people died in a fire at a residential high-rise building on Thursday in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region. As a result of recordings of the incident being shared on social media, lockdowns were blamed for deaths due to fire which sparked demonstrations.
In the early hours of Saturday, Urumqi officials staged an impromptu news conference to deny that COVID restrictions had delayed escape and rescue efforts. Many of Urumqi’s 4 million citizens have been subject to some of the longest lockdowns in the nation and have been unable to leave their homes for up to 100 days.
