Shanghai, China: Widespread rage over the strict COVID-19 restrictions that have been in place for over three years, as well as outrage over a fatal fire that was largely attributed to lockdowns, have led to protests bursting out across Chinese cities and University Campuses.

A crowd in Shanghai called for the overthrow of the Communist Party and Mr. Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, in an exceptionally daring move that demonstrated the desperation of the people. Chinese people typically avoid publicly criticising the Party and its leaders out of concern for retaliation.

The demonstrations started November 25th in Urumqi, the capital of the remote Xinjiang region, where a residential building fire the day before killed at least 10 lives and injured nine more. Many people think they died because they couldn’t flee because of COVID-19 limitations, however, the local Administration refutes this theory.

Internet censors quickly removed images and videos shared on Chinese social media regarding the protest but many of them persisted on Twitter, which is blocked in China. Among other images circulating on social media, a young man standing in front of what looks like a COVID-19 testing station holds up a piece of paper saying: “Grievously commemorating Nov 24 fire victims.”

In Shanghai, a red billboard commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Eastern China University of Political Science and Law was spray-painted with the words “Do not keep silent.” Phone calls to the Shanghai Public Security Bureau and the Ministry of Public Security in China went unanswered.

Prof. Chung Kim-wah, a Social Scientist who formerly worked at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University stated that, although widespread, these small-scale local protests were unlikely to threaten the Central Government. The professor expected the Government would use both appeasement and crackdown to defuse the discontent.

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