Thousands of Chinese took to the streets over the weekend to protest against their government's oppressive Zero COVID policies, in what is likely the largest public displays of defiance of the ruling Chinese Communist Party since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989..The protests were sparked by an apartment fire in the city of Urumqi in Xinjiang province that reportedly killed 10 people last week. Chinese health officials had welded people into their apartments, preventing them from escaping as the fire spread through the building. .The city had been under lockdown for more than 100 days, with residents forced to stay in their homes home..On Friday, crowds in Urumqi took to the streets to protest. Soon after, more protests popped up in the cities of Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Wuhan, and Lanzhou over the weekend, with students gathering on campuses and in city streets..Videos posted online show people gathering in the middle of intersections to chant "Xi Jinping! Step down! CCP! Step down!" and "We don't want lifelong rulers. We don't want emperors."."What we object to is these restrictions on people's rights in the name of virus prevention, and the restrictions on individual freedom and people's livelihoods," said Jason Sun, a college student in Shanghai..People also held up blank sheets of paper as an expression of protest. The trend can be linked back to the Hong Kong protests in 2020, where blank pieces of paper were used to express displeasure towards the city's new draconian national security laws and rampant Chinese censorship..In some areas of China, the protests took on a more aggressive flair. People were seen knocking over mobile testing facilities and overturning cars. .It is rare to see protests in China, a nation with sophisticated online surveillance and a Social Credit Score system. The last time protests of this magnitude were seen was in 1989, when thousands of students gathered in Tiananmen Square to call for democracy and human rights..China, which was ground zero for the Coronavirus, has some of the strictest public health measures in the world. It has attempted to completely eradicate the virus through a 'Zero COVID' strategy of strict lockdowns, mass testing isolating the infected by removing them from their homes..READ MORE: ‘Zero COVID’ strategy leads to desperation and food shortages in Shanghai.The Chinese government has also built massive quarantine camps across the country. In the city of Guangzhou, authorities are currently building a camp that will accommodate 87,000 people..No new protests have been seen on Monday, as Chinese police have made themselves highly visible. People have been stopped by police officers and asked to delete footage they have of the protests..Police have also been checking if people have virtual private networks (VPNs) and the Telegram app on their phones, which were used by the protesters. VPNs are illegal for most people in China, while the Telegram app is blocked..The weekend demonstrations had a wider impact on the global economy, sending oil prices, Chinese stocks and the Yuan tumbling, while the US dollar surged..When asked about the widespread anger over China's Zero COVID policy, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters, "what you mentioned does not reflect what actually happened."."We believe that with the leadership of the Communist Party of China, and co-operation and support of the Chinese people, our fight against COVID-19 will be successful."
