Covid protests highlight president Xi’s dilemma
The rare street protests that erupted in cities across China over the weekend – the strongest public defiance during President Xi Jinping’s political career – were a referendum against his zero-covid policy, China analysts said.
Not since Tiananmen Square in 1989 have so many Chinese risked arrest and other repercussions to take to the streets over a single issue.
“During Xi Jinping’s 10 years in power, these are the most public and most widespread displays of anger by the citizenry against government policy,” said Bates Gill, a China expert with Asia Society.
Public dissatisfaction with Xi’s zero-covid policy, expressed on social media or offline in the form of putting up posters in universities or by protesting, is Xi’s biggest domestic challenge since the 2019 protests in Hong Kong against an extradition bill.
Xi had claimed personal responsibility for leading the “war” against Covid, justified his actions with a need to “put people above everything” and counted the policy among his political achievements when he sought a precedent-breaking third term at the 20th Communist Party Congress in October.
Nearly three years into the pandemic, China says its policies are not geared towards having zero cases at all times but are about “dynamically” taking action when cases surface.
While some protesters chanted “Down with Xi Jinping, Down with Chinese Communist Party“, most concerned themselves with resisting a lockdown of their residential compounds or exemption from frequent tests for the virus.
“Once these self-interests are met, most people will be appeased and will move on,” said Chen Daoyin, a former associate professor at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, now a commentator based in Chile.
Students were not highly organized or led by a central figure, Chen said.
At the time of the Tiananmen protests and crackdown by Chinese authorities there were internal divisions among top party leaders about how to manage the crisis and what path to take China in future.
Not the case with Xi. With the Congress, Xi renewed his term as party leader and military commander-in-chief and placed his acolytes in all the important positions in the party. Leaders who have previously expressed contrarian views or governed in a different style from him were marginalized.
Although this authoritarian arrangement allowed Xi to be more powerful, it contains vulnerabilities.
“By only surrounding himself with people who say the things he like to hear, Xi traps himself in an echo chamber,” said Lance Gore, a China expert at East Asian Institute in Singapore.
The protests magnify what has been a mounting predicament for Xi.
If he were to change course on his COVID-19 policy before China was prepared, it could lead to widespread illness, death, and an overwhelmed medical system.
But if he brazens through before finding a way to declare victory and dial back, he risks more anger from an increasingly fed-up citizenry while economic growth sputters.