The fire started in a faulty power line in a bedroom on the 15th floor of an apartment building in Far West China. It took firefighters three hours to put it out — too slow to prevent at least 10 deaths — and what may have remained an isolated accident has turned into a tragedy and a political issue. headache for local leaders.
Many suspect that the Covid-19 lockdown has hampered rescue efforts or trapped victims in their homes, and although officials deny that has happened, angry comments Violence flooded social media and people took to the streets in the city where the fire broke out.
Now, the incident in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region, has sparked the strongest wave of public outrage against the ruling Communist Party in years. In cities across China this weekend, thousands of people gathered with candles and flowers to remember the victims of the fire. On campus, students held vigils, many holding up white pieces of paper in silent protest. In Shanghai, some residents even called for the Communist Party and its leader, Xi Jinping, to step down, a rare bold challenge.
The outflow of money has created new pressure on Mr. Xi just a month after he secured a third term as party head, cementing his status as leader. dominated China for decades. The cause of wider outrage was his “no Covid” strategy, which sought to eliminate the infection with lockdowns, isolation and mass testing. It has kept the number of coronavirus deaths much lower than elsewhere, but has also brought many Chinese cities to a near standstill, disrupting the lives and travel of hundreds of millions of people and forcing many Small businesses have to close.
Protests are relatively rare in China. Especially under Mr. Xi, the party has eliminated most means of organizing the people to seize power. Dissidents have been imprisoned, social media heavily censored, and independent groups related to human rights have been banned. Protests broke out in towns and villages often involving workers, farmers or other locals who were suffering from job loss, land disputes, pollution or other unusual problems. be restrained.
But the ubiquity of China’s Covid restrictions has created a focal point for anger that transcends class and geography. Migrant workers grapple with food shortages and unemployment during the week-long lockdown, university students are kept on campus, urban experts rage over restrictions travel restrictions – the source of their frustration is the same.
The Communist Party’s greatest fear will come to fruition if these same grievances bring together protesters of different backgrounds, as in 1989, when students, workers, small businessmen and citizens found some common ground in the Tiananmen Square protests for democratic change. So far, that has not happened.
“Covid Zero has created an unintended consequence, which is to push a large number of people into the same situation,” he said. Yasheng Huang, a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management who leads its China Lab. “This is a game changer.”
“Anger has been pent-up for a while, but I think the 20th Congress has brought an expectation that it will subside,” he said, referring to the party’s leadership reshuffle in September. 10. “When that doesn’t happen, frustration quickly flares up.”
The deaths from Thursday’s fire in Urumqi and questions about whether the victims were sealed in their burning building resonated widely in China. After nearly three years of restricting the pandemic, many Chinese are sometimes isolated at home with their doors wired either the door is closed or the exit is blocked. That shared experience seems to breed suspicion and collective anger about the deaths.
Kira Yao, a sales manager in Shanghai, said: “Yesterday, I watched the fire tragedy in Urumqi and cried all the time, then I thought about when Shanghai was under lockdown this year.” pray there for the victims of the Urumqi fire.
“Then we shouted, ‘No nucleic acid testing, we want freedom’ and ‘No medical codes apply,'” she said. “I feel like I can finally say what I want to say.”
While many restrained protesters called for an easing of Covid restrictions, some seized the opportunity to make broader political demands, linking the draconian scope of “no Covid”. with the authoritarian system of the country.
On Sunday, hundreds of students gathered at the campus of Tsinghua University, northwest of Beijing, where they were mostly barred from leaving for weeks because of Covid restrictions.
Near the Liangma River in Beijing on Sunday night, at least 100 people gathered to light candles and hold up white sheets, an implicit protest to censorship. A pair of policemen arrived shortly after and asked everyone to disperse. When people started chanting for an end to the blockade, an officer told them to stop.
“I also mourn those who have died,” he said.
“Are you angry?” someone shouted back.
In Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the pandemic originated in late 2019, dozens of people in at least two neighborhoods gathered on the streets, some breaking through barriers erected. up to enforce the residential blockade order.
The protests follow hopes that Covid restrictions will be gradually eased after officials in Beijing released a 20-point plan this month to limit the scope of anti-pandemic measures. Based on that plan, people had expected local authorities to scale back contact tracing and mass isolation, but as Covid cases increased, officials resorted to the same sweeping tactics again. on one’s own.
Mr. Xi did not respond easily to the widespread anger. Censorship agencies quickly deleted photos and videos of the protests. If Xi were to crack down on protesters, he could anger the public even further, straining even China’s fearsome security apparatus. If he abruptly lifts many restrictions, he risks damaging the image of unattainable power he has built in part through his success in the fight against Covid. The ensuing rise in infections, potentially fatal in vulnerable populations, could also become another cause of discontent.
“The immediate challenge is whether or not they will continue with ‘no Covid’ and how when there is so much frustration. This is a decision he has to make in the next 48 to 72 hours.” Minxin Pei, a professor of government at Claremont McKenna University who studies Chinese politics, said in an interview. “You can arrest people and put them in jail, but the virus will still be there. There are simply no easy answers for him, only difficult choices.”
The political stakes were clearly made in Shanghai on Saturday night, when what started as a vigil escalated into a street protest.
Dozens of people gathered on Urumqi Road, named after the city in Xinjiang, to mourn the victims of the fire. As the crowd reached hundreds, chants broke out, with those calling for the easing of Covid control measures. “We want freedom,” they said. A few of them have publicly denounced Xi and the Communist Party.
“Xi Jinping!” One man in the crowd kept shouting. “Step down!” Some chanted in response.
Professor Pei said: “This is unprecedented in this day and age. “It reflects a lot of frustration with Covid policies. Everyone is just tired.”
For much of the time since Covid spread from Wuhan nearly three years ago, many Chinese have embraced tight control measures, including sweeping restrictions restricting domestic travel, as a price to pay to avoid the widespread disease and death suffered by the United States and other countries. But public patience has waned this year as other countries increasingly adapt to living with the virus.
Workers at a vast iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, Henan province, Violent clash with police last week about the lockdown measures and the delay in the payment of bonuses. Earlier this month, hundreds of migrants were locked up in the manufacturing hub of Guangzhou tear the barrier and food supplies were searched. In October, a lone protester hung a banner on a bridge in Beijing, just days before the Communist Party Congress where Mr. Xi was elected to a new term.
The Chinese government may worry that photos and videos of the Shanghai protests will go viral, despite online censorship, causing more unrest. Crowds also gathered in Chengdu, a city in southwestern China, video from sunday showswith some shouting, “We want freedom, we want democracy.”
May Hu, who lives in southern Hunan province, said she spent hours watching a live stream of the Shanghai protests on Instagram, which is blocked in China unless software is used to get through. censorship barriers.
“In the past, people just thought how to get out of all this,” said Ms. Hu, in her 20s. “After that, the mindset of many people changed to, ‘We need to fight and win our freedom.’”
Some participants in the previous evening’s gathering in Shanghai expressed concern that widespread public outrage could eventually lead to an equally violent official response. A recent university graduate who asked to use only his last name, Li, said that after witnessing police shoving and detaining people on Saturday night, he was worried about joining the party. join another protest.
“After speaking up, some in the audience may feel empowered — that you can’t mess with people — but what will be the outcome?” Ding Tingting, an art curator, who attended the memorial service in Shanghai but disapproved of the loud chants that night.
On Sunday night, residents gathered in the same area, some shouting, “Let them go,” apparently after police sometimes arrest people. difficult encounter, video shared with The Times shows. Officers urged others to come along, preventing them from settling in for any potential protests.
Section of the heron contribution report.
