(Selina Wang’s article from the CNN on 28 November 2022.)
Across the country, “want freedom” has become a
rallying cry for a groundswell of protests mainly led by the younger
generation, some too young to have taken part in previous acts of open dissent
against the government.
“Give me liberty or give me death!” crowds by the hundreds shouted in several cities, according to videos circulating online, as vigils to mark the deaths of at least 10 people in a fire in Xinjiang spiraled into political rallies.
Protests against
Covid measures in Urumqi city, Xinjiang, China, can be seen in a screen grab
obtained from a video released November 25. Videos circulating online seem to
suggest China’s strict zero-Covid policy initially prevented emergency workers
from accessing the scene, angering residents across the country who have
endured three years of varying Covid controls.
Some protesters
chanted for free speech, democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and other
political demands across cities from the eastern financial hub of Shanghai to
the capital Beijing, the southern metropolis of Guangzhou and Chengdu in the
west.
CNN has verified protests in 16 locations, with
reports of others held in dozens of other cities and universities across the
country. While protests in several parts of China appear to have largely
dispersed peacefully over the weekend, some met a stronger response from
authorities – and security has been tightened across cities in a country were
authorities have far-reaching surveillance and security capabilities.
In Beijing, a heavy police presence was apparent on Monday evening, a day after protests broke out there. Police vehicles, many parked with their lights flashing, lined eerily quiet streets throughout parts of the capital, including near Liangmaqiao in the city’s central Chaoyang district, where a large crowd of protesters had gathered Sunday night.
When asked
Monday whether “the widespread display of anger and frustration” seen across
the country could prompt China to move away from its zero-Covid approach, a
Foreign Ministry spokesman dismissed suggestions of dissent.
“What you
mentioned does not reflect what actually happened,” said spokesperson Zhao
Lijian, who added that authorities had been “making adjustments” to their Covid
policies based on “realities on the ground.” “We believe that with the
leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese people our fight
against Covid-19 will be successful,” he said.
In a symbolic protest against ever-tightening
censorship, young demonstrators across China held up sheets of white paper – a
metaphor for the countless critical posts, news articles and outspoken social
media accounts that were wiped from the internet.
“I think in a just society, no one should be criminalized for their speech. There shouldn’t be only one voice in our society – we need a variety of voices,” a Beijing protester told CNN in the early hours of Monday as he marched down the city’s Third Ring Road with a thin pile of white A4 paper.
“I hope in the
future, I will no longer be holding a white piece of paper for what I really
want to express,” said the protester, who CNN is not naming due to concerns
about repercussions for speaking out.
The United Nations on Monday urged Chinese authorities to guarantee people’s “right to demonstrate peacefully,” Secretary General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a daily briefing. The sentiment was echoed by the US. During a briefing on Monday, John Kirby, the communications coordinator at the National Security Council, repeatedly reiterated the administration’s policy that “people should be allowed the right to assemble and to peacefully protest policies or laws or dictates that that they take issue with.”
Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak criticized
China on Monday, saying “instead of listening to their people’s protests, the
Chinese Government has chosen to crack down further, including by assaulting a
BBC journalist.” He was referring to the Sunday arrest of Edward Lawrence by
police in Shanghai. The journalist was covering the protest in the city and has
since been released, according to the BBC.
Throughout the weekend, censors moved swiftly to scrub videos and photos of the protests from the Chinese internet, though the startling images made headlines worldwide. In online commentaries, Chinese state media made no mention of the protests, instead focusing on the strengths of Beijing’s anti-Covid policies, emphasizing they were both “scientific and effective.”
But to many
protesters, the demonstrations are about much more than Covid – they’re
bringing together many liberal-minded young people whose attempts to speak out
might otherwise be thwarted by strict online censorship.
A Shanghai
resident in their 20s who took part in the candlelight vigil in the early hours
of Sunday said they were greeted by other young people holding white papers,
flowers and shouting “want freedom” as they walked toward the makeshift
memorial.
“My friends and
I have all experienced Shanghai’s lockdown, and the so-called ‘iron fist’ (of
the state) has fallen on all of us,” they told CNN, “That night, I felt that I
could finally do something. I couldn’t sit still, I had to go.”
They broke into
tears quietly in the crowd as the chants demanding freedom grew louder. “At
that moment, I felt I’m not alone,” they said. “I realized that I’m not the
only one who thinks this way.” Political dissent: In some cases, the protests
have taken on an even more defiant tone and openly called for political change.
During the first
night of the demonstrations in Shanghai, a crowd shouted “Step down, Xi
Jinping! Step down, Communist Party!” in an unprecedented, direct challenge to
the top leader. On Sunday night, some protesters again chanted for the removal
of Xi.
In Chengdu, the
protesters did not name Xi, but their message was hard to miss. “Opposition to
dictatorship!” chanted hundreds of people packing the bustling river banks in a
popular food and shopping district on Sunday evening, according to videos and a
participant.
“We don’t want lifelong rulers. We don’t want
emperors!” they shouted in a thinly veiled reference to the Chinese leader, who
last month began a norm-shattering third term in office.
According to the participant, the crowd also protested against revisions to the party charter and the state constitution – which enabled Xi to further cement his hold on power and scrap presidential term limits.
Much like in
Shanghai, the gathering started as a small candlelight vigil for people killed
in the fire in Urumqi on Thursday. But as more people gathered, the vigil turned
into a louder arena to air political grievances.
“Everyone
started shouting these slogans very naturally,” the participant said. “It is so
rare that we have such a large-scale gathering and demonstration. The words of
mourning didn’t feel enough, and we had to shout out some words that we want to
say.”
To her, the experience of suffocating censorship
inevitably fuels desire for “institutional and spiritual freedom,” and mourning
the victims and demanding democracy and freedom are two “inseparable” things.
“We all know
that the reason why we have to keep undergoing lockdowns and Covid tests is
that this is a political movement, not a scientific and logical response of
epidemic prevention,” she said. “That’s why we have more political demands
other than lifting lockdowns.”
The Chengdu protester said she felt encouraged by the wave of demonstrations sweeping the country. “It turns out there are so many people who are wide awake,” she said. “I feel like I can see a glimmer of light coming through ahead.”
