Protests in Shanghai and Beijing as anger over China's COVID curbs mounts - Reuters.com

SHANGHAI/BEIJING, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Protests successful China against dense COVID-19 curbs dispersed to Shanghai connected Sunday, with demonstrators besides gathering astatine 1 of Beijing's astir prestigious universities aft a deadly occurrence successful the country's acold westbound sparked wide anger.

The question of civilian disobedience, which has included protests successful Urumqi wherever the occurrence occurred arsenic good arsenic elsewhere successful Beijing and successful different cities, has reached unprecedented levels successful mainland China since Xi Jinping assumed powerfulness a decennary ago.

In Shanghai, China's astir populous city, residents gathered connected Saturday nighttime astatine Wulumuqi Road - which is named aft Urumqi - for a candlelight vigil that turned into a protestation successful the aboriginal hours of Sunday.

As a ample radical of constabulary looked on, the assemblage held up blank sheets of paper - a protestation awesome against censorship. Later on, they shouted, “lift lockdown for Urumqi, assistance lockdown for Xinjiang, assistance lockdown for each of China!”, according to a video circulated connected societal media.

At different point, a ample radical began shouting, “Down with the Chinese Communist Party, down with Xi Jinping", according to witnesses and videos, successful a uncommon nationalist protestation against the country's leadership.

The constabulary tried astatine times to interruption up the crowd.

At the field of Beijing's Tsinghua University a ample assemblage gathered, according to images and videos posted connected societal media. Some radical besides held blank sheets of paper.

Thursday's occurrence that killed 10 radical successful a high-rise gathering successful Urumqi, superior of the Xinjiang region, saw crowds instrumentality to the thoroughfare connected Friday evening, chanting "End the lockdown!" and pumping their fists successful the air, according to videos connected societal media.

Many net users surmised that residents were not capable to flight successful clip due to the fact that the gathering was partially locked down, which metropolis officials denied. In Urumqi, a metropolis of 4 million, immoderate radical person been locked down for arsenic agelong arsenic 100 days.

ZERO-COVID

China has stuck with Xi's signature zero-COVID argumentation adjacent portion overmuch of the satellite tries to coexist with the coronavirus. While debased by planetary standards, China's cases person deed grounds highs for days, with astir 40,000 caller infections connected Saturday.

China defends the argumentation arsenic life-saving and indispensable to forestall overwhelming the healthcare system. Officials person vowed to proceed with it contempt the increasing nationalist pushback and its mounting toll connected the world's second-biggest economy.

Widespread nationalist protestation is highly uncommon successful China, wherever country for dissent has been each but eliminated nether Xi, forcing citizens mostly to vent connected societal media, wherever they play cat-and-mouse with censors.

Frustration is boiling conscionable implicit a period aft Xi secured a 3rd word astatine the helm of China's Communist Party.

"This volition enactment superior unit connected the enactment to respond. There is simply a bully accidental that 1 effect volition beryllium repression, and they volition apprehension and prosecute immoderate protesters," said Dan Mattingly, adjunct prof of governmental subject astatine Yale University.

Still, helium said, the unrest is acold from that seen successful 1989, erstwhile protests culminated successful the bloody crackdown successful Tiananmen Square. He added that arsenic agelong arsenic Xi had China's elite and the service connected his side, helium would not look immoderate meaningful hazard to his clasp connected power.

This weekend, Xinjiang Communist Party Secretary Ma Xingrui called for the portion to measurement up information attraction and curb the "illegal convulsive rejection of COVID-prevention measures".

Xinjiang officials person besides said nationalist transport services volition gradually resume from Monday successful Urumqi.

'WE DON'T WANT HEALTH CODES'

Other cities that person seen nationalist dissent see Lanzhou successful the northwest wherever residents connected Saturday upturned COVID unit tents and smashed investigating booths, posts connected societal media showed. Protesters said they were enactment nether lockdown adjacent though nary 1 had tested positive.

Candlelight vigils for the Urumqi victims took spot astatine universities successful cities specified arsenic Nanjing and Beijing.

Videos from Shanghai showed crowds facing constabulary and chanting “Serve the people”, “We privation freedom", and “We don’t privation wellness codes”, a notation to the mobile telephone apps that indispensable beryllium scanned for introduction into nationalist places crossed China.

The Shanghai authorities did not instantly respond to a petition for remark connected Sunday.

The city's 25 cardinal radical were enactment nether lockdown for 2 months earlier this year, provoking choler and protests.

Chinese authorities person since past sought to beryllium much targeted successful their COVID curbs, an effort that has been challenged by the surge successful infections arsenic the state faces its archetypal wintertime with the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

In Beijing connected Saturday, immoderate residents nether lockdown were capable to successfully face and unit section officials into lifting curbs up of schedule.

One video shared with Reuters showed Beijing residents marching successful an unidentifiable portion of the superior connected Saturday, shouting "End the lockdown!"

The Beijing authorities did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

Reporting by Martin Quin Pollard, Yew Lun Tian, Eduardo Baptista and Liz Lee successful Beijing and by Brenda Goh successful Shanghai and the Shanghai Newsroom; Writing by Tony Munroe; Editing by William Mallard, Kim Coghill and Edwina Gibbs

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.