Zero Covid policy in China: demonstrators call for Xi’s resignation

Hundreds demonstrated in Shanghai against the strict zero-Covid policy. They also called for the resignation of head of state and party leader Xi – which was previously unimaginable in the country without freedom of expression.

White flowers as a sign of mourning, a few tea lights and a poster with the words: “Urumqi, rest in peace” – it began as a memorial to the victims of the high-rise fire. Over the course of the night, the rally in Shanghai developed into a protest in which more than 1,000 people protested against the strict corona measures and the Chinese state and party leadership. Videos that are spreading in the Chinese online networks in the race against the censorship authorities can be seen how they even call on the Chinese head of state and party leader Xi Jinping to resign.

Country without freedom of speech and freedom of the press

Such protests and openly critical statements against the state and party leader and the Communist Party are remarkable. There is no freedom of speech or freedom of the press in China. Many people do not even dare to mention Xi Jinping’s name.

In other cities in China, there were isolated protests against the corona measures during the night. In the capital Beijing, for example, residents in some blocks of flats resisted closures. In the city of Nanjing in the east of the country, students protested against the strict corona measures on their campus.

Cause was fire with ten dead

According to official information, ten people died in a fire in a high-rise building in Urumqi in the Xinjiang region on Thursday. Then there were protests against the strict corona measures. Among other things, people blamed the road closures for the fact that the fire brigade was hindered in the rescue work.

With almost 40,000 cases, China has reported a daily record of new infections for the fourth day in a row since the pandemic began. The Chinese state and party leadership continues to adhere to a strict zero-Covid strategy and is countering corona outbreaks with lockdowns, mass tests, exit restrictions and travel bans.