China cries for freedom from Xi Jinping, zero tolerance for zero-Covid diktat

Anger and discontent have been brewing in the Chinese people for a while now. We have seen discontent erupt during riots, protests, and escapes at the Foxconn iPhone factory in Zhengzhou. But now, the discontent has spread to multiple major cities in China. 

From Beijing to Xinjiang, people have taken to the streets in numbers like never seen before in China in recent history, or more specifically since Xi Jinping became the President. 

What's happening? Over the weekend and on Monday, November 28, Chinese people in large numbers have taken to the streets to protest against the government's draconian zero-Covid policy. 

📍Beijing and Shanghai

VIDEO: Protests in Shanghai as anger mounts over China's zero-Covid policy.

Video taken by an eyewitness in Shanghai on Sunday shows angry crowds taking to the streets calling for an end to lockdowns, as China grapples with mounting public protests against its zero-Covid policy pic.twitter.com/dezRrAIoeA

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) November 28, 2022

At the very end, they shout: “tear down the Great Firewall” https://t.co/e5CmFGwSCJ

— Laurie Chen (@lauriechenwords) November 28, 2022

• The anti-Covid policy protests have also turned the notch up on anti-regime chants, some even calling for Xi Jinping and the CCP to step down. 
• It is very rare in China for protesters to directly target the Central government and pose a challenge to Xi Jinping's regime. 

Incredible footage from #China’s #Shanghai, where countless people gathered at a road called “#Urumqi road,” chanting a slogan “Step down, the Communist Party” very loudly. https://t.co/6YBpfbxsox

— William Yang (@WilliamYang120) November 26, 2022

• Some are even calling it the biggest uprising in China since the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. 
• In China's capital city Beijing, a crowd of some 100 protesters even tried to march to Tiananmen Square on Sunday night but were stopped by the police. 

Crowd of at least 100 making its way to Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Sunday night, chanting, “We want universal values,” “We want freedom, equality, democracy, rule of law,” “We don’t want dictatorship,” “We don’t want personality cult.” pic.twitter.com/JSW7OHMIAG

— Simina Mistreanu (@SiminaMistreanu) November 27, 2022

• Clashes between protesters and the police were also reported in Shanghai. In Beijing, a BBC journalist was assaulted and detained by the police. 

Clashes erupted between demonstrators and police in Shanghai as protests over China's stringent COVID restrictions flared for the third day and spread to several cities https://t.co/knbPuyvkyl pic.twitter.com/K6G02cOZC1

— Reuters (@Reuters) November 28, 2022

• Protesters have also been tearing down Covid testing booths and quarantine barricades that have been set up on the roads. 

China. This is how you fight the NWO. 🇨🇳 pic.twitter.com/7WuV8JXB4m

— AmericanPatriot 🇺🇸 (@ColdWarPatriot) November 25, 2022

What triggered the protests? While the discontent over zero-Covid policy has been rising in China, it was a fire at a high-rise in Urumqi, Xinjiang, which seems to be the tipping point for the public's tolerance. 

• Ten people including children were killed in the fire. 
• The apartment was sealed down and barricaded by authorities as part of zero-Covid measures. When a fire broke out, the residents were unable to escape and firefighters were not able to get to them in time. 

There are videos of the screams of the families burning in that building in Urumqi. This is the spark that lit the fuse of the protests across China

"Open the doors! Open the doors! Save us!"

Even children were killed pic.twitter.com/cTSt6F5yXc

— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) November 28, 2022

Universities and protest symbols: University students in China have also joined in to protest against the Chinese government, including students from the popular Tsinghua University. 

• At Tsinghua University, a slogan reading "f**king idiot, Xi Jinping" was hung from a dormitory building. Once again, this is a rare form of criticism against the Chinese government. 

• Students at Tsinghua University also held up "Friedmann" equation as a protest symbol. "Friedmann" sounds like "free man". 

Students from the elite school Tsinghua University protested with Friedmann equation. I have no idea what this equation means, but it does not matter.
It's the pronunciation: it's similar to "free的man" (free man)—a spectacular and creative way to express, with intelligence. pic.twitter.com/m5zomeTRPF

— Nathan Law 羅冠聰 (@nathanlawkc) November 27, 2022

• At the Communication University of China, Nanjing, students turned on flashlights on their phones in protest against the government and in solidarity with the victims of the Urumqi fire.

Amazing photos coming from the Communication University of China, Nanjing, where students are protesting, making their voices heard at a time of growing unrest in light of zero Covid, following the Urumqi fire. pic.twitter.com/uFp7ZeboQL

— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) November 26, 2022

• Elsewhere, people are holding up blank sheets of paper as a protest symbol. 

The Great Firewall of China: The many protest videos leaking out of China and its Great Firewall shows the severity of the protests and how widespread it is. In all the protest videos, protesters have turned on the camera against the police and authorities to document and show other people on what's happening. 

Covid cases in China: On the other hand, China is reporting a rise in daily Covid infections. On November 27, China reported a fifth straight daily high of 40,347 new COVID-19 cases. 

So far, Xi Jinping has ruled out easing the zero-Covid policy in China. 

While the rest of the world has accepted that they will have to live with Covid-19, China has been obsessed with bringing infections, which are low in comparison to global standards, to a zero.