China is facing its largest anti-government protests since the Tiananmen Square massacre after activists filled the streets to openly call for an end to the rule of President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Hundreds of students at Tsinghua university in Beijing joined waves of demonstrations as unrest grows over the ruthless zero-Covid policies pursued by the authoritarian government.
The crowds carried a series of placards touting anti-regime slogans and erupted into a series of chants, calling for ‘democracy’ and ‘freedom of expression’.
Footage shared on Social Media appears to show police attacking anti-lockdown protesters who had been arrested and put on buses in Shanghai, on a third day of unrest in the world’s most populous nation.
The university in the Chinese capital is the latest public location to be rocked by unprecedent civil unrest and demonstrations on a scale unseen since the infamous Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 which ended in hundreds of deaths when the army was deployed to quell the uprising.
‘At 11:30 am students started holding up signs at the entrance of the canteen, then more and more people joined. Now there are 200 to 300 people,’ one witness told an AFP journalist.
Participants sang the national anthem and ‘the Internationale’ – a standard of the international communist movement – and chanted ‘freedom will prevail’ and ‘no to lockdowns, we want freedom’, they said.
The witness also described students holding up blank pieces of paper, a symbolic protest against censorship.
Demonstrations have erupted in at least seven cities – including Shanghai, Nanjing and Guangzhou – with violence breaking out between local cops and furious protesters.
Footage circulated on social media showed crowds tearing down metal fences and barricades as they grappled with security officers who deployed their batons and tear gas in attempt to control the swell of humanity.
The largest demonstration appeared in Shanghai – home to 26million residents – with many boldly demanding Jinping resign.
Officers used pepper spray against about 300 protesters, according to a witness, but western journalists reported the numbers to be in the thousands.
Meanwhile last night hundreds gathered to mourn the deaths of at least 10 people in an apartment fire last week in Urumqi in the Xinjiang region, where residents were sealed in their buildings to try to stop the spread of Covid.
It comes amid China launching another mass crackdown on the virus with crippling lockdowns put in place across the country, nearly three years after the pandemic started there.
The nation reported another 39,791 new cases spread across the country – the biggest one-day increase on record – including a record 4,307 in Beijing alone.
But it appears ill-equipped for the latest battle with Covid, with it using its own vaccines, rather than approved foreign ones, which do not have the same effectiveness at beating back the virus.
Students take part in a protest against COVID-19 curbs at Tsinghua University in Beijing as a series of demonstrations rocks the country
The crowds carried a series of placards touting anti-regime slogans and erupted into a series of chants, calling for ‘democracy’ and ‘freedom of expression’
This image taken from a video on November 27, 2022 shows students protesting against China’s zero-Covid policy at Tsinghua University in Beijing
A security officer attempts to prevent pictures from being taken, at a gate to Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, November 27, 2022
A sea of student protestors filled the streets in Beijing as participants chanted anti-government slogans
Students at China’s top Tsinghua University protest COVID lockdown measures
Students protest against government censorship by holding up blank pieces of paper
In the city of Shanghai, videos posted on social media by foreign journalists show thousands of people taking to the streets to remember the victims and to protest against Covid restrictions.
Young people could be seen fighting with police in China due to COVID restrictions
Protests against Covid restrictions in China appear to have intensified with police arresting people on Saturday night
Hundreds could be heard asking for President Xi Jinping to resign in remarkable scenes from the communist country
Videos of the protests are difficult to independently verify, but many of them show an unusually explicit and outspoken criticism of the government and its leader
Millions of Chinese are weary of three years of movement restrictions and daily Covid tests
This demonstrations are unusual in this new normal, both in their numbers and directness of their criticism of the government
Protesters were heard shouting slogans such as ‘Xi Jinping, step down’ and ‘Communist party, step down’ and holding blank white pieces of paper
The Communication University of China in Nanjing was trending on Weibo on Saturday night, with one hashtag receiving over 180 million views. Students at the university gathered chanting slogans such as ‘long live the people’ and turning on the lights on their phone as a tribute to victims of the fire in Urumqi.
Video posted on Saturday night shows young people fighting with polic. People were shouting: ‘Down with the Communist Party! ‘Down with Xi Jinping!’ ‘We want freedom!’ Every of these slogans is enough to send a person to jail for 10 years
Such protests are an unusual sight within China, where any direct criticism of the government and president can result in harsh penalties
Some protesters also shouted abuse at police, who lined the streets where people had gathered.
The police and the public were shoving before the live broadcast, but most of the people on both sides were restrained according to postings on social media
Angry protests erupted across China yesterday as citizens took to the streets in a rare display of defiance over Beijing’s draconian coronavirus restrictions
Public fury forced authorities in the far western Xinjiang region to open up parts of the capital Urumqi, which has been subject to a punishing ‘zero-Covid’ lockdown for more than three months
Public fury forced authorities in the far western Xinjiang region to open up parts of the capital Urumqi, which has been subject to a punishing ‘zero-Covid’ lockdown for more than three months.
The protest in Urumqi was triggered by the deaths of at least 10 people in a fire at a high-rise apartment block.
Some have claimed lockdown measures hampered rescue efforts and the ability of residents to escape.
Footage posted online showed hundreds of demonstrators confronting riot police on the streets of Urumqi, where many of the four million residents have been barred from leaving their homes for as long as 100 days.
Some protesters were shown in videos shouting for Xi to step down or the ruling party to give up power.
One video shows a man shouting at uniformed officials, ‘Whose children are you, and whose father are you? Don’t you have a conscience? How many people died today?’
Other videos showed demonstrators in a plaza singing China’s national anthem, seen as an attempt to protect themselves from accusations of being against the government. One of the lines is: ‘Rise up, those who refuse to be slaves.’
In some scenes, people shouted and pushed against rows of men in the white whole-body hazmat suits.
In Shanghai, protesters gathered at Middle Urumqi Road at midnight with flowers, candles and signs reading ‘Urumqi, November 24, those who died rest in peace,’ according to a participant who would give only his family name, Zhao.
Zhao said one of his friends was beaten by police and two were pepper-sprayed. He said police stomped on his feet as he tried to stop them from taking his friend away. He lost his shoes and left barefoot.
According to Zhao, protesters yelled slogans including ‘Xi Jinping, step down, Communist Party, step down,’ ‘Unlock Xinjiang, unlock China,’ ‘do not want PCR (tests), want freedom’ and ‘press freedom.’
Around 100 police stood in lines to prevent protesters from gathering or leaving, Zhao said. He said buses with more police arrived later.
Protesters are taken away by police in a bus in Shanghai on Saturday following protests against China’s restrictive COVID measures
People hold signs during a candlelight vigil held for the victims of the Urumqi fire, in Shanghai
A vigil was held for the victims of a fire that broke out in an apartment block
A person lights a candle during a vigil held for the victims of the Urumqi fire, in Shanghai in this picture obtained from a social media video
People mourn for the victims of a recent deadly fire at a residential building in Urumqi city at a road sign of the Middle Wulumuqi Road or Middle Urumqi Rd in Shanghai, China
Protests against China’s restrictive COVID-19 measures appeared to roil in a number of cities Saturday night, in displays of public defiance fanned by anger over a deadly fire
The sign posted here partly reads ‘Urumqi friends, I love you like I love this street, like I love my family members signed 2022-11-26 Shanghai’
Workers could be seen throwing railings at hazmat-clothed law enforcement
One Twitter user described how people were locked inside a burning apartment building
Witnesses said a protest also occurred in Urumqi where the fire occurred after complaints it worsened the death toll
The protest was triggered by the deaths of at least 10 people in a fire at a high-rise apartment block
A person dressed in PPE could be seen explaining to the camera how people were locked in
. Some have claimed lockdown measures hampered rescue efforts and the ability of residents to escape with doors fastened shut
One door appeared to be shut using a metal tie in order to secure the door, preventing escape
Firefighters spray water on a fire at a residential building in Urumqi in western China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
Another protester, who gave only his family name, Xu, said there was a larger crowd of thousands of demonstrators, but police stood in the road and let them pass on the sidewalk.
Internet users posted videos and accounts on Chinese and foreign social media showing protests in Shanghai, Nanjing, Chengdu and Chongqing in the southwest and Urumqi and Korla in Xinjiang.
A video that said it was shot in Urumqi showed protesters chanting, ‘Remove the Communist Party! Remove Xi Jinping!’
Protests in Xinjiang are especially risky following a security crackdown against Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic minorities that has included mass detentions.
Most protesters in the videos were members of China’s dominant Han ethnic group. A Uyghur woman in Urumqi said Uyghurs were too scared to take to the streets.
‘Han Chinese people know they will not be punished if they speak against the lockdown,’ said the woman, who asked not to be identified by name for fear of retaliation. ‘Uyghurs are different. If we dare say such things, we will be taken to prison or to the camps.’
Large crowds of Foxconn factory workers hit out at authorities in hazmat suits in Zhengzhou, China, as unrest grows
Authorities were dressed in hazmat suits as they confronted protestors in face masks
In a rare display of public anger, workers – angry over Covid isolation policies and working conditions – clashed with hazmat-clad personnel wielding batons. Pictured left: A man with a large pole fends off hazmat-clad officials. Right: A large crowd faces down the officials
Hazmat-wearing officials use riot shields to protect themselves from objects thrown by angry workers, furious over their working conditions
In another video, more protesters could be seen clashing with the hazmat-clad officials. Barriers and poles can be seen being hurled at the officials, who are struggling to hold their line against a huge, furious crowd of workers
Posts on Chinese social media were quickly deleted, which Beijing often does to suppress criticism it worries might serve as a rallying point for opposition to one-party rule.
People in some parts of Xinjiang have been confined to their homes since early August. Some complain they lack access to food and medicine and have posted appeals for help online.
In a possible attempt to placate the public, authorities on Saturday announced they had achieved ‘societal zero-COVID’ and restrictions in Urumqi and Korla would be relaxed. The government said taxi, railway, bus and other public services that had been suspended for weeks would resume. State-owned China Southern Airlines announced it would resume flights from Urumqi to four Chinese cities starting Monday.
Social media users greeted news the disease was under control with disbelief and sarcasm. ‘Only China can achieve this speed,’ wrote one user on the Sina Weibo social media service.
Party leaders promised last month to make restrictions less disruptive by easing quarantine and other rules but said they were sticking to ‘zero-Covid’.
Meanwhile, a surge in infection pushed daily cases above 30,000 for the first time led local authorities to impose restrictions residents complain exceed what is allowed by the national government.
The fire deaths in Urumqi triggered an outpouring of angry questions online about whether firefighters who needed three hours to extinguish the blaze or victims trying to escape might have been obstructed by locked doors or other controls.
Authorities denied that, but the disaster became a focal point for public anger about anti-disease restrictions, ruling party propaganda and censorship.
In Beijing, 1,700 miles away, residents also staged protests, confronting officials over restrictions on their movement. Some successfully pressured authorities into lifting the lockdown measures ahead of schedule.
Earlier in the week, residents in the southern city of Guangzhou clashed with police, complaining about being confined for weeks, as well as food shortages.
Officials there responded by erecting concrete walls and barbed wire to prevent anyone leaving the Haizhu district, the epicentre of the protests.
And in Zhengzhou, the city government tried to ease public anger by apologising for the death of a four-month-old baby.
Footage posted online showed hundreds of demonstrators confronting riot police on the streets of Urumqi, where many of the four million residents have been barred from leaving their homes for as long as 100 days
A volunteer health worker rides a bike outside of a building with confirmed cases in Beijing
