“Down with Xi Jinping. We want democracy”

China is plunged into complete chaos after the ‘zero covid’ plan imposed by President Xi Jinping. The manifestations against the strict government measures have been intensified in recent days.

The Asian giant is one of the few economies in the world that applies to policy of this kind. The restrictions are due, in part, to relatively low vaccination levels in China and an effort to protect the elderly.

Protests arose after the death of 10 people in an apparently confined building fire in Urumqi this Thursday. The incident was a turning point for a society where millions of citizens are tired of three years of movement restrictions and daily tests.

The accumulated social anger against the leaders of the Communist Party has extended to the last corner of China, from major cities to remote regions such as Tibet. This provoked revolution in various sectors of the country, including young university students, workers and ordinary citizens.

The relevance of the fact that protests don’t stop growing and becoming a more common act is because in China any kind of criticism of the government and the president can end up with harsh penalties. And even if they weren’t used to seeing their citizens protesting in the streets against the governmentis the most viewed in recent days.

However, this weekend was unusualsince the number of people was much higher than expected in the different demonstrations, in addition to the sincerity in the criticism of the government and to President Xi Jinping.

Network recordings show groups of protesters chanting “you who refuse to be slaves, arise“, which belongs to a line in the Chinese national anthem, or which shouts “we want freedom“,”we don’t want to do PCR tests“or”fuck QR codes“, referring to the obligation to scan health QR codes with a mobile application at the entrance to any establishment or even in parks so that, when the authorities detect an infection, they can determine who has had contact with that person in each moment .

In other circles crowds could be heard chanting: “I don’t want the covid test, I want freedom!”, “I don’t want dictatorship, I want democracy!”, “Down with the Communist Party, down with Xi Jinping”take the cnn.

On the other hand, several citizens have opted for wave the Chinese flag, raise the white card and sing the anthem whose texts defend revolutionary ideals and invite the people to “get up, get up”. It is a show of patriotism that could also be read as an expression of solidarity with fellow Chinese who are suffering from Xi’s “covid zero” policy and a call to action.

In Shanghai, precisely in Urumqi street, hundreds of people gathered on Saturday evening and Sunday morning for hold a vigil in memory of those who died in the fire. It passed peacefully, but on social networks there are those who have affirmed it arrests have been made.

In central Beijing, dozens of people protested on Sunday night, joining the wave of mobilizations of the last days in all cities of China. This is the first major protest on the streets of the capital, the majority are young university students.

Not long ago it was unthinkable Chinese citizens took to the streets en masse demanding President Xi’s resignation. But the new restrictions, tightening every day, have been a sticking point for the Chinese people, who now want freedom. These protests are proving to be a major challenge for Chinese leaders.

Even if, despite the strict measures, the number of cases from China this week it reached all-time highs since the start of the pandemic. In Beijing, particularly protected against outbreaks since 2020, it is now registering its highest levels of contagion. According to the latest official report, more than 4,300 new cases were detected this Saturday, of which 82% were asymptomatic by the standards of the health authorities.

Follow the topics that interest you