Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Anti-lockdown protesters in police clashes
Xi quit calls over China’s zero Covid strategy
Anti-lockdown protesters demanded a change in government as they clashed with police in China yesterday.
Demonstrators in Shanghai shouting “We don’t want PCR tests, we want freedom!” were dispersed by officers who beat and pepper-sprayed them.
But more took to the streets in the city and across the country where protests are rare under the tough Chinese Communist Party rule of President Xi Jinping.
Fury erupted after at least 10 died in a fire in a block of flats in
Urumqi, in north west Xinjiang, where many believe rescue was hampered by Covid lockdown measures.
Hundreds gathered on a street in Shanghai named after the city, chanting: “Xi Jinping! Step down! CCP! Step down!” Six protesters were said to have been forcibly taken away by police.
One rebel said: “Everyone thinks Chinese people are afraid to come out and protest. But everyone was very brave.”
China’s “zero Covid” strategy has confined people to their homes for weeks at a time for three years since the outbreak. Demonstrations have taken place at 50 universities across China, according to crowdsourced information posted on social media.
Videos showing protesters tussling with police were said to have been filmed in at least seven cities across the country.