Protests in China grow as people demand freedom, democratic reforms and an end to COVID-19 lockdown rules.
Hundreds of people took to the streets of Beijing and Shanghai on Sunday and into the early hours of Monday in a rare outburst of public anger against the government.
Some chanted “Down with Xi Jinping!”
Others chanted: “End the national lockdown!”
Similar protests took place in Chengdu, Wuhan and Guangzhou, according to videos shared on social media.
Clashes between protesters and police escalated as people refused to disperse.
The unprecedented wave of civil obedience first erupted on Friday in Urumqi, the capital of the western region of Xinjiang, a day after a fire in a residential building killed 10 people. Witnesses said residents were unable to evacuate in time because the building was partially closed. The city’s 4 million residents have been facing some of the longest lockdowns across China, being unable to leave their homes for as long as 1-hundred days.
The Chinese government has stuck with Xi’s zero-COVID policy even when many parts of the world have lifted restrictions. It hails its policies as life-saving and essential to prevent an overload on its national health system. Kim Hyo-sun, Arirang News.