Hundreds of people took to the streets in Xinjiang province in the northwest of the country to protest against the Chinese government’s strict corona measures. In Chinese online media on Saturday, several videos from the city of Ürümqi showed people breaking through locked metal fences and protesting. Some shout: “Stop the lockdown!”. The AFP news agency was able to verify online videos. Large parts of the Xinjiang region and its capital, Ürümqi, have been cordoned off for more than 100 days.
There were also protests in the capital Beijing, where a number of residential complexes are also in lockdown, according to videos. In several neighborhoods, residents broke through the fences of their settlement. There, too, the local authorities were asked to lift the strict measures against the further spread of the pandemic. Such open protests are unusual in the Communist-ruled People’s Republic of more than 1.4 billion people.
Deadly fire sparks protests
The reason was an apartment fire in Ürümqi on Thursday evening. At least ten people were killed and nine others injured. A number of residents criticized on social networks that the rigid measures had made fighting the fire more difficult. Residents had been made more difficult to escape through locked apartment doors. In addition, some fled too late or not at all for fear of breaking the curfew.
According to the fire service, it was difficult to get to the burning building because parked passenger cars blocked the narrow access road.
According to the online reports, these were often electric cars that were without power due to the long curfew. In a rare reaction, Urumqi Mayor Maimaitiming Kade apologized for the blaze during Friday evening’s fire department press conference. However, authorities have denied allegations online that the building’s doors had been wired shut to prevent residents from leaving.
Riots over zero covid policy
In recent months, there has already been isolated unrest in China against the rigid corona policy. The exit restrictions pose an existential threat, especially for migrant workers who do not have large savings. China is currently experiencing the highest corona figures since the start of the pandemic. On Saturday, the Beijing Health Commission reported a record number of nearly 35,000 new cases. Far-reaching movement restrictions apply in cities with more than a million inhabitants, such as Beijing, the heavily affected southern Chinese city of Guangzhou or Chongqing.
China is sticking to its strict zero-Covid strategy. In individual cases, residential areas are cordoned off. Contacts come to quarantine camps. Infected people are isolated in the hospital. Even after nearly three years of the pandemic, China’s international borders are largely closed. (SDA/AFP)