The fire that claimed 10 lives in Ürümq has increased anger towards the corona restrictions.
In China, the protests against the country’s strict corona restrictions seem to be accelerating. On Saturday, hundreds of people demonstrated in Shanghai and demanded the president Xi Jinping break up, says, among others, the public broadcasting company BBC.
The fire in a residential building in the city of Ürümq in Xinjiang that happened on Thursday and claimed ten lives has increased the anger. Information has circulated on social media, according to which Ürümq’s strict corona lockdowns were a hindrance to rescue efforts. The authorities have denied that the corona measures affected the matter.
In Shanghai, people laid flowers on the ground and lit candles in memory of the victims of the Ürümq fire and demanded the ouster of the regime.
– Xi Jingping, resign! Chinese Communist Party, Resign! some protesters were heard shouting in the video shot in central Shanghai.
BBC’s (switching to another service) according to early Sunday, the situation in Shanghai had calmed down, but due to Saturday’s demonstration, there were clearly more police and security guards in the area than usual.
A person who participated in the demonstration interviewed by news agency AFP said that some people mourned the victims of the fire and laid flowers, while others shouted slogans. The authorities clashed with some of the protesters on a small scale.
Hundreds of university students protested against the administration
In several universities, students have also gathered to remember the victims of the fire in Xinjiang and to protest against the regime. Hundreds of students at the elite Tsinghua University in Beijing demonstrated against the corona measures on Sunday.
– At half past twelve the students started holding signs at the canteen entrance, and after that more and more people joined. Now there are 200-300 people there. We sang the national anthem and shouted that freedom will win, a university student told AFP.
According to an eyewitness, several female students were holding blank paper at the demonstration. The work has become a symbolic protest against censorship.
Videos shared on social media showed a crowd gathered around the speaker at the same location.
– This is not normal life, we have had enough, they shouted in the videos.
Open demonstrations against the communist regime are extremely rare in China.
The strict corona policy tests nerves
In China, there have been protests against the strict restriction policy in the past as well. For example, earlier this week, widespread protests and violence broke out at an iPhone manufacturing factory in Zhengzhou.
China is the only country in the world to adhere to the so-called zero corona policy and is still working to suppress the disease. Even small amounts of disease can lead to entire cities being shut down and quarantine orders imposed, which has made people’s daily lives unpredictable and also eaten into China’s economic growth.
For example, Shanghai, with a population of more than 25 million, experienced a very strict two-month corona lockdown earlier this year, during which many of the city’s residents had a shortage of food.
27.11. at 10:01 AM Added new information about university student protests.