Beijing is nervous: the protests, which currently involve only a few tens of thousands of participants, could expand. The Chinese government has tasked special forces with even more regulation of the Internet. It is doubtful whether this will be enough to break the resistance: the movement against the Corona regime has no leader. And because of the sheer number of videos and photo sequences of action with a blank white slate as a symbol of oppression, it’s hard to get them off the web. President Xi Jinping’s empire may still seem like an impenetrable fortress, but Chinese experts who wished to remain anonymous told the New York Times that the Communist Party has neither the manpower nor the technical equipment to deal with the situation.
The security forces managed to detect the protesters using facial recognition and intimidate them personally – not all of them were wearing masks. But many believe they have a right to demand freedom of speech and the press, democracy and the rule of law. In addition, many of those who previously sympathized with the dictatorship understand the demonstrations and support their goals. Shouts like “China doesn’t need an emperor”, “We want to vote, we don’t need a leader” or “We want to be citizens, not slaves” have been heard in the streets and squares for several days now. Never since the bloody end of the democratic movement in 1989 has the dictatorship of the CCP been so resolutely challenged. People are protecting themselves from much more than just the corona’s restrictive policies.
Non-governmental organizations counted up to 735 marches or rallies across the country since mid-May as people protested against banks and developers who lost their savings, against terrible working conditions or non-payment of salaries. Youth unemployment is 20 percent, and Chinese youth are also unhappy with ruler Xi. What a month ago at the 20th Party Congress looked like the 69-year-old had everything under control now turns out to be a masquerade and propaganda. The people are tired of control and paternalism on the part of the state.
People are not primarily in favor of a multi-party system or free and fair elections. Many also believe that the People’s Republic can change according to the order they have lived in for as long as they can remember. At the same time, however, there is a general awareness that ruler Xi has deprived them of their few freedoms. At the party congress that proclaimed him president for the third time, Xi stressed that “security” would play a major role in his policies. He used the term at least 91 times in his speech. His goal is to further expand the security apparatus and indoctrinate the population of a vast empire: they should not even think about criticizing him and the party he subjugated.
But this calculation does not converge. Among other things, because people in China don’t necessarily need a centrally controlled Internet to organize themselves. Because they are all now experiencing the same thing: about 400 million are still locked up, they are tired of constant testing, they were not even allowed to see the photos of the World Cup in Qatar unfiltered: the management had Game reports cut out – there are no screens it was seen that in Qatar it was no longer necessary to wear masks in the spectator stands.
The situation has changed and Chinese television now shows football fans without masks. A slight change in Covid restrictions should also result in protests becoming less frequent. With the same intention, many universities have postponed the New Year holidays to an earlier date. But each of these measures carries a risk for Xi, who has made his policy the benchmark for all action and presents a “zero Covid” policy as the only alternative. If the protests force the government to back down, even if only minimally, the leader could lose face and set a precedent for the next wave of discontent. Given the standards otherwise applied in China, this would come close to democratic decision-making. And, of course, something like that does not fit into the concept of C.
So far, the ranks in the party seem to be firmly closed. The officials, who were only given new positions in October because of their loyalty to Xi, must do everything to ensure that his authority is not questioned and their big patron is deceived. Shortly before the start of the anniversary in October, a courageous protester unfurled a banner on a bridge in Beijing calling for Xi’s resignation from all posts. The brave act of the “man of the bridge” was noted with horns and applause on the Internet. Six weeks later, the lone protest had grown to tens of thousands. In a few weeks there may be hundreds of thousands, and in a month there may be millions doing the same thing as the man on the bridge.
Even big moves sometimes start small. In any case, the people of the People’s Republic have already tasted freedom.
*Alexander Görlach is Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Council on the Ethics of International Relations in New York. His book, Red Alert: Why Beijing’s Aggressive Foreign Policy in the Western Pacific Is Leading to Global War, was recently published.