On university campuses, students gathered with flowers and candles, in Shanghai protesters called for the resignation of President Xi Jinping. Protests began Friday evening in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, after a deadly fire at an apartment building. According to residents, the firefighting efforts were hampered due to the covid restrictions and the victims could not escape through closed doors. Local authorities deny this and blame the high death toll on illegally parked cars and ‘weak self-reliance’ of the residents. Outrage over this led to demonstrations in at least two places in Urumqi.
On Saturday and Sunday, the protest spread to at least ten cities and numerous universities, where silent vigils for the victims of the fire turned into political resistance actions. In Shanghai, hundreds of protesters gathered on Urumqi Street, some calling for the resignation of Xi Jinping and the Communist Party of China. About 400 people took to the streets in Beijing on Sunday evening. In addition to slogans against the zero-covid policy, there were calls for freedom of expression, the rule of law and the right to vote. These are the largest protests since Xi Jinping took office a decade ago.
Kiosks knocked over
Many demonstrators referred to slogans from an earlier one-man action on a bridge in Beijing just before the Party Congress in October. In Shanghai, for example, it sounded: ‘We don’t want PCR tests, we want freedom.’ Many demonstrators also held up a blank white sheet, as a sign of silent resistance to the heavy censorship in China. In other places – including Beijing, Guangzhou, Wuhan – residents protested against lockdowns in their own neighbourhood. In Lanzhou, protesters toppled the kiosks where they normally have to get their PCR tests.
“I don’t think this action will make a difference today, but change can come if people continue to resist,” Chang, a 24-year-old film studies student, said during an hour-long demonstration in central Beijing on Sunday. She comes to protest against the zero covid policy, but also for freedom of expression. ‘I want to make documentaries, but I’m not allowed to talk about anything. I can’t film this protest.’
Dissatisfaction in China about the zero-covid policy has been increasing for months and has led to more and more local clashes in the past month, such as last week at the Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou. But the fire in Urumqi, which left at least ten dead and nine injured, appears to be a tipping point. This weekend’s protests no longer focused only on local lockdowns, but also against the zero-covid policy itself and in some cases even the Chinese regime. It is unlikely that the Chinese government will tolerate this for long.
412 million Chinese in lockdown
Local governments responded to the protests this weekend with concessions. In at least 10 neighborhoods in Beijing, a local curfew was ended or relaxed after opposition from residents. Released residents left their homes with packed suitcases, fearful that the easing would soon be reversed. In Urumqi, the city-wide lockdown was lifted, but at the same time 273 neighborhoods were declared high-risk areas, keeping these neighborhoods closed. At the same time, the central government repeated on Sunday that it is ‘unwaveringly’ adhering to the zero-covid policy.
The protests illustrate the unsustainability of zero-covid policy, which was initially perceived as positive by many Chinese. Since the emergence of the highly contagious omikron variant, the policy has led to endless lockdowns and severe economic and social damage. While the rest of the world seems to have left covid behind, according to Japanese investment bank Nomura, 412 million Chinese are in partial or complete lockdown. The Chinese government does not appear to have an exit plan.
Frustration among the Chinese population was compounded by the recent flip-flop policy, with easing being reversed as quickly as announced. The chaos is the result of conflicting orders from the central government, which on the one hand insists on zero covid, but on the other hand demands that the economy keep running. This places local authorities, which must implement the policy and are judged on their contamination figures, for an impossible task. Many residents complain about chaotic measures and a lack of information.
A resident of Urumqi, who wishes to remain anonymous for security reasons, confirmed on Saturday evening that the city has reopened on a “limited basis.” “We are allowed to leave our neighborhood and some shops have reopened. But we are not allowed to drive a car, public transport is not working and people cannot go to work. And not all neighborhoods have reopened.’
It is unlikely that Beijing will let go of the zero-covid policy, especially now that the number of infections is rising sharply. On Sunday, 39,506 new infections were reported across China, a new record and almost certainly under-reported. It increasingly seems that the Chinese government is losing control of the virus, while it has insufficiently prepared for this. The focus is still on maintaining lockdowns and quarantines, rather than increasing hospital capacity or vaccination coverage.
Repression
The protests are especially notable because criticism of the government in China carries great risks. At least six protesters were arrested in Shanghai. Behind the scenes, repression also seems to have begun. Videos on social media show residents being arrested in Urumqi for participating in the protests or sharing videos of the fire on WeChat. They are accused of ‘spreading rumours’ or ‘disrupting order’. Local authorities called on residents in a WeChat message to report those involved, for a reward of 140 euros.
“I’m not afraid to come here, I have nothing to lose,” Song, 29, said during the Beijing rally. She was previously in lockdown and lost her job due to the zero covid policy. ‘There are now hardly any opportunities to find work and earn money.’
At Communication University in Nanjing, the deputy director threatened that the students would ‘pay a price for their actions’, although this was later withdrawn by the management. On social media, citizens called on companies to hire students who would not be awarded a degree because of their participation in these protests.