Protests are erupting in several major cities in China over President
Xi Jinping’s
zero-tolerance approach to Covid-19, an unusual show of defiance in the country as the economic and social costs from snap lockdowns and other strict restrictions escalate.
The protests followed demonstrations on Friday in Urumqi, the capital of the remote region of Xinjiang, where a deadly fire enraged city residents who had struggled with lockdowns of more than 100 days. Residents flooded social media with comments suggesting the government’s Covid restrictions contributed to a delay in putting out the fire, in which officials said 10 people died.
On Saturday, videos circulating on social media showed crowds gathering on a street in central Shanghai calling for a lifting of the lockdowns. The videos were verified by Storyful, a social-media research company owned by
parent company of The Wall Street Journal.
One clip showed protesters standing around a street sign that says Wulumuqi Middle Road, named after Urumqi, suggesting the protests were inspired by protests in that city on Friday. Using expletives and call-and-response chanting, they were denouncing Mr. Xi’s Covid-control strategy. Another clip from the scene showed demonstrators standing across from lines of police.
The clip showed one man chanting, “The Communist Party.”
Others responded, “Step down.”
“
Xi Jinping,
” the one man shouted.
“Step down,” others responded.
Other videos and photographs circulating online showed students demonstrating at the Communication University of China in the eastern city of Nanjing, with one clip showing some chanting, “Long live the people.”
The Journal spoke to people in both Shanghai and Nanjing, who confirmed that the clips showed events taking place in those cities on Saturday.
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