Chinese authorities yesterday eased some COVID-19 rules, but affirmed their severe “zero COVID” strategy after protesters demanded Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) resign in the biggest show of opposition to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in decades.
The government made no comment on the protests or the criticism of Xi, but the decision to ease at least some of the restrictions appeared to be aimed at quelling anger. It was not clear how many people were detained since protests began on Friday and spread to cities, including Shanghai and Beijing.
The city government of Beijing yesterday announced that it would no longer set up gates to block access to apartment compounds where infections are found. It made no mention of a deadly fire last week that set off the protests following questions about whether firefighters or victims trying to escape were blocked by locked doors or other anti-virus controls.
Photo: Reuters
In addition, Guangzhou, the biggest hotspot in China’s latest wave of infections, announced some residents would no longer be required to undergo mass testing. It cited a need to conserve resources.
Urumqi, where the deadly fire occurred, and another city in the Xinjiang region in the northwest announced markets and other businesses in areas deemed at low risk of infection would reopen this week and public bus service would resume.
“Zero COVID,” which aims to isolate every infected person, has helped to keep China’s case numbers lower than those of the US and other major countries.
However, it has confined millions of people to their homes for up to four months, and many have complained about a lack of reliable food and medical supplies.
Yesterday, the number of new daily cases rose to 40,347, including 36,525 with no symptoms.
The People’s Daily called for its anti-virus strategy to be carried out effectively, indicating that Xi’s government has no plans to change course.
“Facts have fully proved that each version of the prevention and control plan has withstood the test of practice,” a People’s Daily commentator wrote.
Protests spread to at least eight major cities. In a video that was verified by The Associated Press (AP), a crowd in Shanghai on Saturday chanted: “Xi Jinping! Step down! CCP! Step down!”
Hours after police broke up the demonstration, people returned to the same spot on Sunday for another protest. Dozens of people were detained in police sweeps and driven away in police vans and buses, though the exact number was not clear.
In one sweep witnessed by an AP journalist, officers charged and tackled bystanders at an intersection near where earlier protests had taken place, even though the bystanders were not chanting or expressing dissent in any visible way.
Eyewitnesses told the AP about protests that took place in Guangzhou and in Chengdu in the southwest. Videos that said they were filmed in Nanjing in the east, Chongqing in the southwest and other cities showed protesters tussling with police in white protective suits or dismantling barricades used to seal off neighborhoods. AP could not verify that all those protests took place or where.
The BBC said one of its reporters was beaten, kicked, handcuffed and detained for several hours by Shanghai police, but later released. It criticized what it said was Chinese authorities’ explanation that its reporter was detained to prevent him from contracting COVID-19 from the crowd.
“We do not consider this a credible explanation,” it said in a statement.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) said the BBC reporter failed to identify himself and “didn’t voluntarily present” his press credential.
In London, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the arrest “shocking and unacceptable.”
Britain will raise concerns with China about the response to protests, while the government will continue to seek constructive relations with the country on other issues, the spokesman said.
Swiss broadcaster RTS said its correspondent and a cameraman were detained while doing a live broadcast, but released a few minutes later. A journalist for the AP was detained, but later released.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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