On the evening of Nov. 26, Sibyl, who works in China’s media industry, attended a rally in Shanghai to mourn the victims of the fire that hit Urumqi, Xinjiang, two days ago. A friend found photos of the demonstration on Weibo social media.
“I just wanted to express my condolences,” he told reporters on the condition that he would not reveal his last name for fear of harming himself. When we arrived around midnight, dozens of people stood silently in a circle, holding candles and handwritten placards lamenting the tragedy. “Zero corona” policy to thoroughly contain the new coronavirushinder relief effortsThere was even a line criticizing what he had become
Wulumuqi Road, Shanghai (November 27)
Photographer: Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images
The crowd continued to grow. After more than an hour, the police tried to cordon off the area around the demonstration and asked the newcomers to turn back. But some people refused the police request, claiming they had the right to participate, and that was the beginning of the chant, said Sybil, 25.
“I want freedom. “We don’t need the CCP (Communist Party of China),” cries were heard. Some people felt it had gone too far, but the tension of the rally increased. The zero-coronavirus policy has been promoted by the Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping (Chairman) as a leader, but measures such as lockdowns (city lockdowns) and large-scale inspections have had a great impact on people’s lives and economic activities.
Dozens of demonstrations in Shanghai and other parts of China soon became more than a tribute to those who died in the fire. The Internet in China is a large-scale information censorship system”Great wall of fire”, but the backlash against the zero-corona policy spread so quickly on social media that censorship could not catch up.
Everything was “like a dream,” said a local woman in her 40s who attended the demonstration in Shanghai on condition of anonymity. “I never thought in my life that something like this could happen in China,” she said.
Anti-Coronavirus Demonstrations in China Set to Calm Citizens Switching to ‘Carte Blanche’ Tactics
Protest (Beijing, November 27)
Photographer: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
In addition to photos and slogans, demonstrators spread the news that the demonstration had turned into protests. All of this was a message to Mr. Xi, who had just achieved an unusual third term as party leader following the October party convention. It was a time when people were unable to contain their anger after the ever-evolving stringent measures against the coronavirus had continued for about three years.
Whether these protests will continue remains to be seen. The government reacted quickly to the protests, mobilizing large numbers of police. Health officials have suggested it is time to ease extreme coronavirus restrictions.
Protest at Tsinghua University (Beijing, November 27)
Source: AP Photo
Clashes broke out between residents and police on the night of November 29 in the Haizhu District of Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province. The neighborhood had been closed for about a month as a measure against the coronavirus. In response, the Communist Party’s Central Political and Legal Commission, which oversees the security and judicial departments, announced a policy to crack down on “hostile forces” and “subversive activities” and said it would not tolerate “illegal and criminal acts which disrupt society’s order.”
Communist Party of China cracks down on “hostile forces”
A Shanghai woman who described what happened last weekend as “a dream” said she would not join the protests again for now. Most Chinese have no way to resist the government’s crackdown, and even if the crackdown gets tougher, they won’t be able to leave the country, believing the protests will subside.
People mourn the victims of the fire in Urumqi, Beijing on November 27.
Source: Bloomberg
But even without further protests, the spontaneous outpouring of anger and resistance to Xi-sponsored policies poses a new challenge for the Communist Party leadership.
of Pitzer University (California)Han Jiang Liu“People have realized that they are not the only ones dissatisfied not only with the zero coronavirus situation, but also with the government,” said an assistant professor of Chinese politics. He believes the experience of the protests has probably deepened people’s understanding of civil disobedience and its strategies and tactics.
As of December 1, there have been 33,683 new coronavirus infections in mainland China.
China’s Xi faces retrial, Jiang Zemin’s death overlaps with ‘zero crown’ backlash.
of the University of California, BerkeleyYang LongAn assistant professor of sociology predicts: “Organized action is unlikely to catch on.” It was destroyed, ”he said she.
Wu Guoguang, Senior Fellow at the Center for Chinese Economics and Institutional Studies at Stanford UniversityContribution textHe argued that people have realized that the tragedy in Xinjiang could be happening in another city, saying, “There is no need for organization or mobilization to show this kind of sympathy and empathy. They will voluntarily take to the streets to help
Beijing (November 29)
Source: Bloomberg
Wulumuqi Road, Shanghai, where the protests took place (November 28)
Source: Bloomberg
Original title:Chinese protesters are using loopholes in the Great Firewall to put pressure on Xi、* CHINA REPORTS 33,683 NEW LOCAL COVID CASES FOR THURSDAY.
(Update to add expert opinion in last two paragraphs)
