On Sunday, as the anti-Covid lockdown protests gained steam for a third day, hundreds of people flocked to the streets of Wuhan, China, the place where the devastating coronavirus outbreak in 2019 began.
As widespread dissatisfaction about the strict requirements to adhere to China’s zero-Covid policy increased, a wave of civil disobedience erupted throughout major cities including Beijing and Shanghai.
In videos sighted by Mandy News that went viral on social media, protesters are shown pulling down metal barricades, knocking over tents used for Covid testing, and calling for an end to lockdowns as they struggle with security personnel in Wuhan.
As reported by the news agency AFP, large throngs of people were seen shouting and recording on their phones while marching down a street in the center of Wuhan. Chengdu also saw the emergence of similar protests.
Here’s Why They Are Protests In China:
- All of the protests began in response to a residential high-rise building fire that claimed 10 lives in Urumqi, the region’s capital in northwest Xinjiang. Users on social media posted videos of the incident, accusing the Chinese government of being to blame for the high death toll due to the tight lockdown.
- Students protested against the lockdowns over the weekend on various university campuses throughout China by gathering with blank sheets. We merely want our fundamental human rights. Without taking a test, we are unable to leave our houses. The Xinjiang catastrophe “pushed people too far,” a 26-year-old protester in Shanghai who wished to remain unnamed told AFP.
- In footage from the protest places, you can hear slogans like “down with Xi Jinping” and “lift lockdown” that were part of what initially started as a candlelight vigil in support of the victims in Urumqi. Graffiti that has subsequently been covered up was also captured on camera and in photos on the walls of universities.
- Security forces maintained a noticeable presence throughout Shanghai and other locations where protests were seen. Authorities also restricted online discussion of the protest, having associated terms removed from the Weibo platform, which is similar to Twitter, as soon as video of the rallies started to circulate.
- In contrast to the rest of the globe, which gradually lifted lockdowns to return to normalcy, China has spent virtually all of the past three years complying with some of the most stringent COvid limitations. China has reported a further alarming increase in Covid instances over the past few days, including a 24-hour record of roughly 40,000 on Saturday, which prompted authorities to impose the limits.
When Mandy News searched on Twitter for the terms Wuhan protest and China lockdown protests, she came across dozens of videos of the protests there.
