Protests against ‘zero COVID policies’ spread to Hong Kong as Chinese security forces crack down on agitation over new restrictions in the mainland. Students in Hong Kong chanted “oppose dictatorship” on Monday in protest against China’s COVID regulations.
Demonstrators have taken to the streets demanding the resignation of President Xi Jinping in the biggest demonstration of opposition to the ruling Communist Party in decades.
Rallies against China’s unusually strict anti-virus measures spread to several cities over the weekend, and authorities relaxed some rules, apparently as part of an effort to quell that public anger. But the government shows no sign of backing down from its grand Covid strategy, and analysts expect officials to quell the discontent quickly.
About 50 students sang at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and some lit candles in mainland cities in support of those who have confined millions of people to their homes. Hiding their faces to avoid official retribution, the students chanted, “No PCR test but freedom,” and “Resist the dictatorship, don’t be a slave.”
Similar protests elsewhere in Hong Kong were the biggest in more than a year under rules imposed to crush the pro-democracy movement in the territory, which is Chinese but has a separate legal system from the mainland.
China’s zero-COVID policy not working: US
China’s zero-Covid policy is unlikely to work, the White House said on Monday and reaffirmed that everyone around the world has the right to peacefully protest amid unprecedented demonstrations in the communist nation over its draconian policy. Has the right to.
“We have said that zero-covid is not a policy that we are pursuing here in the United States. And as we have said, we think it will be very difficult for the People’s Republic of China to be able to contain this virus. Will happen.” through their zero-covid strategy,” a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council told PTI.
The spokesman’s comments come amid protests in various parts of China against strict enforcement of its zero-Covid policy, under which authorities block apartment buildings or seal off neighborhoods after a resident tests positive, leading to People are very inconvenienced.
“For us, we are focused on what works and that means using public health tools such as: increasing vaccination rates and making testing and treatment more easily accessible,” the spokesperson said .
“I’ve wanted to speak out for a long time, but I haven’t had the chance,” said James Cai, 29, from Shanghai, who attended a Hong Kong protest and held up a piece of the White Paper, a defiance against the ruling party’s widespread censorship. symbol of. “If the people of the mainland can’t stand it anymore, then neither can I.” It was not clear how many people have been detained since protests began in China on Friday, sparking public anger over the deaths of 10 people in arson.
Some have questioned whether firefighters or victims trying to escape were blocked by locked doors or other anti-virus controls.
Some local officials eased restrictions on Monday, without mentioning the protests, criticism of Xi or the fire.
In Hong Kong, protesters at the Chinese University carried posters that read, “Don’t be afraid. Don’t forget. Don’t forgive,” and “Did you hear the people singing?” From the musical Les Misérables. Most hid their faces behind blank white sheets of paper.
“I want to show my support,” said a 24-year-old student from the mainland, who identified himself only as Ji for fear of retribution. “I care about things that I could not know in the past.” University security guards videographed the incident but there was no sign of the police.
At an event in Central, a business district, about four dozen protesters carried blank sheets of paper and flowers in what they said were condolences for those killed in the fire in Urumqi in China’s northwest and others who were “zero”. have been killed as a result of covid” policies.
Police cordoned off an area around the protesters, who stood in small, separate groups to avoid breaching pandemic rules prohibiting gatherings of more than 12 people. Police took details of the identity of the participants but made no arrests.
Hong Kong has tightened security controls and rolled back Western-style civil liberties since China launched a campaign in 2019 to crush a pro-democracy movement. The region has its own anti-virus strategy which is different from the mainland.
(with inputs from agencies)