Jakarta –
Residents in the region Xinjiang organized a protest action against the extension of the lockdown due to Covid-19. This lockdown was carried out because there was a new national infection record.
Masses took to the streets on Friday evening in the capital on Sunday (27/11/2022), according to Reuters Xinjiang, Urumqi. The crowd chanted “End of lockdown!” and threw a fist in the air.
Mentioned in a video circulating on social media in China, the protests culminated on Thursday (11/24) after a deadly fire sparked anger over the prolonged COVID-19 lockdown.
The video shows people in the square singing China’s national anthem with the words: “Arise, those who refuse to be slaves!” while others clamored to be released from the lockdown.
He said Reuters verified the footage was posted from Urumqi, where many of its 4 million residents are under the country’s longest lockdown. He said residents were banned from leaving their homes for 100 days.
In the capital Beijing, 2,700km away, some self-isolating residents staged small-scale protests or confronted their local officials over the movement restrictions imposed on them.
The crucial spark of public outrage was a fire in a skyscraper in Urumqi that killed 10 people last Thursday. This incident went viral on social media as many internet users suspected the residents could not escape in time as part of the building was closed.
Urumqi officials meanwhile held a press conference in the early hours of Saturday and denied that the Covid lockdown had hampered escapes and relief efforts.
A planned lockdown for the ‘Berlin Aiyue’ complex was canceled on Friday after residents protested against local leaders and persuaded him to cancel it. At least ten other developments lifted the lockdown on Saturday evening before the announced end date after residents complained, according to a Reuters count of residents’ social media posts.
(dwia/dwia)
