China’s major cities Beijing and Shanghai were under security cover Tuesday after nationwide demonstrations calling for political freedoms and an end to Covid lockdowns.
The country’s leaders are facing a wave of protests unprecedented in decades, fueled by anger over relentless blockades and deep-seated frustrations with China’s political leadership.
A fatal fire last week in Urumqi, the capital of China’s northwest Xinjiang region, was the catalyst for public outrage as protesters took to the streets of cities across the country over the weekend.
Protesters said Covid restrictions were to blame for hampering rescue efforts, claims the government has denied, accusing “forces with ulterior motives” of linking the chimney to strict anti-virus measures.
Several protests were planned for Monday night but materialized, with AFP reporters in Beijing and Shanghai with a heavy police presence of many cars and officials on the streets.
People who had taken part in demonstrations over the weekend told AFP on Monday they had obtained phone calls from law enforcement, not easy details of their movements.
In Shanghai, near a site where weekend protests saw ambitious calls for President Xi Jinping’s resignation, a bar told AFP they were ordered to close at 22:00 (14:00 GMT) to “control the disease”.
Small teams of officials stood in front of the subway exit.
Throughout the day, AFP journalists watched as police arrested four other people and then released one, a journalist, with 12 patrol cars within a hundred meters of Wulumuqi Street in Shanghai, the focal point of Sunday’s demonstration.
“At night, the atmosphere is nervous. There are very small police around,” a man in his thirties told AFP at nightfall.
And with police cars, foot patrols, a network of surveillance cameras and with the help of icy winds, the Beijing government also gave the impression of having deterred additional demonstrations on Monday.
Elsewhere, some rallies were held. In semi-autonomous Kong, where mass democratic protests erupted in 2019, dozens gathered at the Chinese University to mourn the victims of the Urumqi fire.
“Don’t look away. Don’t forget,” protesters shouted.
And in Hangzhou, just over 170 kilometers (106 miles) southwest of Shanghai, there are tight security measures and sporadic protests in the city center, photos circulating on social media and partly geolocated via AFP show.
China’s strict data control and continued restrictions have made it difficult to determine the number of protesters across the vast country.
But such meetings are exceptionally rare, and the government harshly suppresses any opposition to the central government.
US President Joe Biden is following the unrest, the White House announced on Monday.
Around the world, demonstrations of solidarity have multiplied.
In the United States, Chinese- and Uighur-speaking communities piled up at vigils.
“Officials are using the pretext of Covid, but employing lockdowns that are too strict for the Chinese population,” a 21-year-old Chinese aide who gave only his surname, Chen, told AFP.
“They human lives and killed many in vain,” he said.
China’s leaders have stayed true to their commitment to zero covid, which requires the local government to impose instant lockdowns, quarantine orders and restrict freedom of movement in reaction to minor outbreaks.
But there are signs that some local governments are taking steps to some regulations and ease unrest.
In Urumqi, an official said Tuesday that the city would give a one-time payment of three hundred yuan ($42) to people with “low income or no income,” and announced a five-month rent waiver for some households.
Residents of the city of 4 million, some of whom have been confined to their homes for weeks, can also go bus shopping in their neighborhoods starting Tuesday, officials said.
In Beijing, state media reported that the government apologized for delays in delivery to citizens as a call to buy more expensive food due to repeated closures.
The city also banned “the practice of banning construction gates in enclosed residential complexes,” Xinhua said Sunday.
The practice has fueled public anger as others have found themselves cooped up in their homes for minor outbreaks.
And an influential state media commentator warned that Covid checks may be easier, while insisting the public “will calm down soon. “
“I can give an absolute prediction: China will become chaotic or out of control,” said Hu Xijian, a columnist for the state-run tabloid Global Times on Twitter, which is banned in China.
“China may emerge from the shadow of Covid-19 faster than expected. “