China: 'No lockdown, we want freedom', why people took to the streets in China

Demonstrations have intensified across the country against the strict restrictions on the increase in cases of Corona in China

China Lockdown Protest: Demonstrations have intensified across the country against the strict restrictions on increasing cases of Corona in China. Protesters in China are using blank paper to express their anger. A sheet of blank paper has become a symbol of this exhibition. This form of protest has now reached from the streets to the country’s major universities.

Many photos and videos have surfaced on social media showing students at universities in several cities, including Nanjing and Beijing, holding blank sheets of paper in peaceful demonstrations. China is still following its strict zero covid policy. Corona cases are increasing rapidly in the country and only 40,000 new cases were reported on Sunday (November 27). For the fourth consecutive day, there has been an increase in infection cases in the country. The figure is the highest since a surge in cases in major cities such as Shanghai in April.

Protests intensified after the accident in Urumqi

These demonstrations have gained momentum after the accident in the Chinese city of Urumqi. Ten people were killed in an apartment fire during the lockdown in Urumqi on Thursday, sparking widespread protests over the weekend. Here some people were locked in the house. Speculations were rife that due to the Covid lockdown, people’s houses were locked so that they could not get out when the fire broke out.

protested with blank paper

According to witnesses and videos, a crowd gathered to hold a candlelight march for the Urumqi victims in Shanghai late Saturday night also held blank paper in their hands. The fire was exacerbated by barricades put up due to the restrictions, with many alleging that it took three hours for emergency crews to put out the fire, but officials denied the allegations and said no barricades had been installed in the building. Residents were allowed to leave.

Similar demonstrations were held in Hong Kong and Moscow.

Another video is going viral which is said to be from Saturday. It shows a lone woman holding a piece of paper on the steps of the University of Communications in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing. After which an unknown person comes to the woman and snatches the paper. Activists at the 2020 Hong Kong protests also used blank paper to protest to avoid slogans banned under the National Security Act. Blank paper sheets were used by protesters in Moscow this year to protest Russia’s war with Ukraine.

Such performances are rare in China. Several videos available on Chinese social media and Twitter showed people demonstrating in several places, including Shanghai, and chanting slogans against the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) and the country’s President Xi Jinping. Many demonstrators are said to have been arrested. In some videos, students were seen protesting the lockdown in various university campuses.