Anti-lockdown protests are intensifying in China

Protests are mounting in China against restrictions imposed by the government’s “zero Covid” policy. From Shanghai to Beijing, the movement is gaining momentum this Sunday. Demonstrators no longer hesitate to demand the country’s all-powerful leader, Xi Jinping, leave, according to videos posted online and endorsed by the media.

rolling, Shanghai, Beijing. Anger is common and is increasingly taking a political turn. A growing segment of the Chinese population is crying foul over their government-imposed “zero Covid” policy — and its restrictions — that have sometimes broken a barrier and called for Xi Jinping’s departure. President from the country.

A caution must be exercised, however, because while videos illustrating the movement proliferate on the Internet, they always require authentication because of the depth of obscurantism surrounding the Chinese regime.

But the anger is undeniable. It should be said that despite many vaccinations, the Asian country continues to impose prison terms and isolate people who test positive as soon as the first cases appear, unlike in other parts of the world. This is almost 3 years after the epidemic started. Almost daily PCR tests are required to visit public places.

never seen”

In the early hours of this Sunday, according to eyewitness accounts, anti-prison protests first erupted in Shanghai. A video that has been widely circulated on the Internet shows AFP geolocating on Wulumuqi Street in downtown Shanghai, with some protesters chanting “Xi Jinping, resign!” Shows shouting that. And the attack on the Chinese Communist Party is a rare demonstration of hostility against the president and the regime in the country’s economic capital.

Stephane Lagarde in particular noted the unprecedented nature of this call for the Communist leader to quit. RFI correspondent in ChinaPosted by video.

Another video sent to AFP by a witness showed people gathering in central Shanghai to pay their respects to ten people killed in a residential building fire in Xinjiang, Urumqi, western China on Thursday.

Several posts circulating on social media in China accused the anti-Covid measures of worsening the drama by slowing the arrival of aid. According to other social media posts, several universities across the country held vigils in memory of those who died in Urumqi. Correspondent of the world He shared one of these scenes from Shanghai, China.

“Demonstration in Shanghai in support of Urumqi and against health policy. Ask the young people gathered ‘We want freedom, democracy, freedom of the press’ (I’ll let the Sinicizers appreciate this last slogan),” he describes. , before assuring: “I’ve never seen it in China”.

Social Media Censorship

One attendee of the Shanghai protests told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity, that he arrived at the rally around 2am. “One group of mourners placed flowers on the pavement while another group raised slogans,” said this witness. “There were a few minor scuffles, but overall the police were civilized,” he continued. “At least two people were taken away by the police for unknown reasons.”

“Freedom Will Win”

According to this witness the maintenance of “civilized” order but instant censorship. Authorities rushed to limit online discussion of the demonstration. Soon after the images of the rallies were broadcast, the expression “Urumqi Road” was censored on Weibo, a platform close to Twitter.

It is noticeable that Chinese fatigue is increasing with the strict policy to fight the epidemic. Sporadic and sometimes violent protests have already taken place in several cities in recent days, including the world’s largest iPhone factory, located in Zhengzhou in the center of the country and owned by Taiwanese company Foxconn.

And this movement continues to spread in the country. As a result, this Sunday there was always a protest in the capital. Several hundred students from the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing participated in the demonstration. “Around 11:30 am, students started raising placards at the canteen gate. Later more people joined them. Now there were 200 to 300 people. We sang the national anthem and ‘Svardesha’ and chanted ‘Freedom’. We will win,” recounted a student.