SHANGHAI (AP) – Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures have called for the resignation of the Chinese president, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities rushed to crack down on Sunday’s demonstrations, which are a rare direct challenge to the judgment. Communist Party.
Protesters in Shanghai calling for Xi Jinping’s resignation and an end to one-party rule were tear-gassed by police, but hours later people gathered again at the same venue. Police again dispersed the demonstration and a reporter saw the arrested protesters being taken away on a bus.
The protests – which began on Friday and have spread to cities including the capital Beijing and dozens of universities – are the largest demonstration of opposition to the ruling party in decades.
In a video of the protest in Shanghai verified by The Associated Press, protesters’ shouts were heard loud and clear: “Xi Jinping, step down! Communist Party, resign!”
Xi, the most powerful leader since at least the 1980s, gave himself a third five-year term as leader of the ruling party in October. Some predict that he will try to stay in power for life.
Three years after the virus appeared, China is the only major country still trying to stop the transmission of COVID-19. Its “zero COVID” strategy has suspended access to neighborhoods for weeks. In some cities, millions of residents are tested for the virus every day.
This has kept infection numbers in China below those in the United States and other large countries, but public acceptance has dried up. People who remain in home quarantine in some areas say they lack food and medicine. The ruling party has faced public anger after the deaths of two children whose parents said virus checks hampered efforts to receive medical care.
The protests erupted after a fire broke out on Thursday that killed at least 10 people in an apartment building in the northwestern city of Urumqi, where some have been confined to their homes for four months.
This sparked a barrage of angry questions online about whether firefighters or people trying to escape were trapped by locked doors or other virus restrictions. About 300 protesters gathered on Saturday night in Shanghai, whose 25 million people have been confined to their homes for nearly two months since the end of March.
On a named street in Urumqi, a group of protesters carried candles, flowers and banners in honor of the fire victims. Another, according to a protester who declined to be named, became more active, shouting slogans and singing the national anthem.
The protester and another, who gave only his surname, Zhao, confirmed the chants against Xi. Like others who spoke to the AP about the protests, they declined to be identified for fear of arrest or reprisals.
The protest atmosphere encouraged people to discuss topics considered taboo, such as the crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989, the anonymous protester said.
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This version has been updated to correct that the fire in Urumqi happened on Thursday, not Friday.
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Wu reported from Taipei, Taiwan.
