Protests spread across China as anger mounts over Jinping’s harsh ‘zero-Covid’ policy

In Shanghai, police used pepper spray against about 300 protesters after they raised slogans such as “Xi Jinping, step down", "Communist Party, step down”

PGurus Newsdesk

November 27, 2022

In Shanghai, police used pepper spray against about 300 protesters after they raised slogans such as “Xi Jinping, step down", "Communist Party, step down”

Protesters openly urge Xi to resign over China Covid curbs

China’s restrictive zero-COVID-19 policies have drawn flak amongst citizens and have spread to more cities. President Xi’s government is drawing flak against its zero-Covid policy in which it has shut down access to areas throughout China in an attempt to isolate every case at a time when other governments are easing controls and trying to live with the virus.

At least a dozen other cities across China including Beijing, Shanghai, Urumqi, Nanjing, and Guangzhou saw hundreds of people taking to the streets to protest against President Xi Jinping’s harsh zero-Covid policy.

Videos have surfaced showing some protesters shouting for Xi to step down or the ruling party to give up power. A video shot in Urumqi showed protesters chanting, “Remove the Communist Party! Remove Xi Jinping!”

In Shanghai, police used pepper spray against about 300 protesters after they raised slogans such as “Xi Jinping, step down”, “Communist Party, step down”, “Unlock Xinjiang, unlock China” and “do not want PCR (tests), want freedom … press freedom”.

Hundreds of students from Beijing’s Tsinghua University rallied at their campus on Sunday, the AFP news agency reported, chanting “freedom will prevail” and calling for an end to lockdowns.

Hundreds of demonstrators in Shanghai shouted and jostled with police on Sunday evening as protests over China’s stringent COVID restrictions flared for a third day following a deadly apartment fire in the country’s far west.

The wave of civil disobedience, which has spread to other cities including Beijing, is unprecedented in mainland China since President Xi Jinping and comes amid mounting frustration over his signature zero-COVID policy.

The ruling Communist Party is facing growing complaints about the economic and human cost as businesses close and families are isolated for weeks with limited access to food and medicine.

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