Desperation in China
Widespread in-person protests are said to be rare in China where dissent has been banned under Xi, forcing citizens to mostly vent their frustrations on social media.
Daily TribuneWidespread in-person protests are said to be rare in China where dissent has been banned under Xi, forcing citizens to mostly vent their frustrations on social media.
The biggest wave of civil disobedience since Xi Jin Ping assumed power a decade ago is engulfing China as people opposed to stringent Covid-19 restrictions have protested in cities across the mainland.
Reports have it that the level of desperation has reached a point where a crowd in Shanghai allegedly called for the removal of the Communist Party and Xi during a standoff with police. The Chinese usually refrain from criticizing the party and its leaders in public for fear of reprisals.
In Urumqi, the regional capital of the far west Xinjiang region, Covid-19 measures were blamed for the death of at least 10 people in a fire that hit a residential building, hampering escape and rescue. Many of Urumqi's four million residents who have been under some of the longest lockdowns were reportedly barred from leaving their homes for as long as 100 days.
Police, it is claimed, have made arrests in Shanghai, China's biggest city and global financial hub as crowds protested the strict lockdowns. Some reportedly chanted "No PCR tests, we want freedom!"
Related protests at the University of Hong Kong where mainland Chinese students held flowers and handed out flyers about the Urumqi fire were reportedly quickly cracked down on after the university called the police.
Chinese residents, according to reports, wanted their basic human rights back like being able to leave their homes without getting a test. The deadly fire that hit Urumqui proved to be the straw which broke the camel's back pushing people far.
Widespread in-person protests are said to be rare in China where dissent has been banned under Xi, forcing citizens to mostly vent their frustrations on social media. They called for an end to the lockdowns.
In Lanzhou, a city northwest of the mainland, residents allegedly overturned Covid staff tents and smashed testing booths, posts on social media showed. They claimed they were put under lockdown even though no one had tested positive.
China, according to The Guardian, has stuck with Xi's zero-Covid policy even as much of the world has lifted most restrictions. Case numbers in the world's most populous country have hit a record high for days, with nearly 40,000 new infections over the weekend, prompting yet more lockdowns in cities nationwide.
Beijing, The Guardian said, has defended the policy as life-saving and necessary to prevent overwhelming the healthcare system. Experts expect the government would use appeasement and crackdowns to defuse discontent.
China's rare public rebellion against its zero-Covid lockdowns has been a cause of concern worldwide as shares skidded in Asia Monday following the weekend protests in various Chinese cities. The protests have been nationwide, broad-based, and combine popular anger over multiple issues in a manner unheard of since Tiananmen Square in 1989.
It has brought together a broad coalition of interests: factory workers, shopkeepers, students, and urban elites, all suffered under zero-Covid in different ways — from losing wages to foregoing international business travel.
For all intents and purposes, China has no easy exit from its zero-Covid policy. Observers believe Beijing will not want to be seen making clear concessions lest people conclude that mass protests work.
It could wait out the protests, all right. But it is obvious time is against it. The health care system, experts feel is cracking under the mass testing of millions of people every day and people's livelihoods are eroding as the economy stalls.
Beijing needs a solution that looks good. Pushing for a more intense vaccination drive, even allowing foreign mRNA vaccines could allow the government to declare victory over Covid.
It could be a meaningless gesture but as observers put it, it would allow China to move on.