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China cities under heavy policing after protests

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Matthew Walsh with Ludovic Ehret in Beijing, Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Police check mourners during a vigil for the victims of China’s zero-COVID policy and the victims of the Urumqi fire in Hong Kong, China, Nov. 28, 2022. Jerome Favre, EPA-EFE" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/tvpatrol/11/29/hong-kong,-china.jpg"/><figcaption>Police check mourners during a vigil for the victims of China’s zero-COVID policy and the victims of the Urumqi fire in Hong Kong, China, Nov. 28, 2022.<em> Jerome Favre, EPA-EFE</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>SHANGHAI — China&#x27;s major cities of Beijing and Shanghai were blanketed with security on Tuesday in the wake of nationwide rallies calling for political freedoms and an end to COVID lockdowns.</p><p>The country&#x27;s leadership is facing a wave of protest not seen in decades, fueled by anger over the unrelenting lockdowns as well as deep-rooted frustrations over China&#x27;s political direction.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/11/27/22/protests-across-china-over-zero-covid-policy">Protests across China, as anger mounts over zero-COVID policy</a></li></ul><p>A deadly fire last week in Urumqi, the capital of northwest China&#x27;s Xinjiang region, was the catalyst for public outrage, with protesters taking to the streets of cities around the country over the weekend.</p><p>The demonstrators said COVID restrictions were to blame for hampering rescue efforts -- claims the government denied as it accused &quot;forces with ulterior motives&quot; of linking the fire to the strict virus measures.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/11/29/22/global-governments-urge-china-respect-covid-protests">Global governments urge China to respect COVID protests</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/11/28/22/rare-protest-against-zero-covid-policy-erupts-in-beijing">Rare protest against &#x27;zero-COVID&#x27; policy erupts in central Beijing</a></li></ul><div><strong>&#x27;SO MANY POLICE&#x27;</strong></div><p>Several protests were planned for Monday night but did not materialize, with AFP journalists in Beijing and Shanghai noting a heavy police presence of hundreds of vehicles and officers on the streets.</p><p>People who had attended rallies over the weekend told AFP Monday they had received phone calls from law enforcement demanding information about their movements.</p><p>In Shanghai, near a site where weekend protests saw bold calls for the resignation of President Xi Jinping, bar staff told AFP they had been ordered to close at 10:00 p.m. for &quot;disease control&quot;. </p><p>Small clusters of officers stood outside each metro exit.</p><p>Throughout the day AFP journalists saw officers detaining 4 people, later releasing one, with a reporter counting 12 police cars within 100 meters along Wulumuqi street in Shanghai, the focal point of Sunday&#x27;s rally.</p><p>&quot;The atmosphere tonight is nervy. There are so many police around,&quot; a man in his early 30s told AFP as evening fell.</p><p>And with police cars, foot patrols, a network of surveillance cameras, and aided by the icy wind, Beijing authorities also appeared Monday to have deterred fresh gatherings.</p><p>Elsewhere, some rallies did go ahead. In semi-autonomous Hong Kong, where mass democracy protests erupted in 2019, dozens gathered at the Chinese University to mourn the victims of the Urumqi fire.</p><p>&quot;Don&#x27;t look away. Don&#x27;t forget,&quot; protesters shouted.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/11/28/22/china-arrests-journalist-covering-covid-protests">China arrests BBC journalist covering COVID protests</a></li></ul><p>And in Hangzhou, just over 170 kilometers southwest of Shanghai, there was strict security and sporadic protests in the city&#x27;s downtown, footage circulating on social media and partly geolocated by AFP showed.</p><div><strong>&#x27;MANY DIED IN VAIN&#x27;</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2358968" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><p>China&#x27;s strict control of information and continued travel curbs has made verifying the numbers of protesters across the vast country challenging.</p><p>But such widespread rallies are exceptionally rare, with authorities harshly clamping down on all opposition to the central government.</p><p>US President Joe Biden is monitoring the unrest, the White House said Monday.</p><p>Around the world, solidarity protests have also mushroomed.</p><p>In the United States, Chinese-speaking and Uyghur communities came together in vigils.</p><p>&quot;Officials are borrowing the pretext of COVID, but using excessively strict lockdowns to control China&#x27;s population,&quot; one 21-year-old Chinese attendant who gave only his surname, Chen, told AFP.</p><p>&quot;They disregarded human lives and caused many to die in vain,&quot; he said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/11/29/22/biden-monitoring-china-covid-unrest-as-us-rallies-pop-up">Biden monitoring China COVID unrest as US rallies pop up</a></li></ul><div><strong>&#x27;NO LONGER AFRAID&#x27;</strong></div><p>China&#x27;s leaders have remained steadfast in their commitment to zero-COVID, which compels local authorities to impose snap lockdowns, quarantine orders, and limit freedom of movement in response to minor outbreaks.</p><p>But there are signs that some local authorities are taking steps to relax some of the rules and dampen the unrest.</p><p>In Urumqi, an official said Tuesday the city would give a one-off payment of 300 yuan ($42) to each person with &quot;low income or no income&quot;, and announced a 5-month rent exemption for some households. </p><p>People in the city of 4 million, some of whom have been confined to their homes for weeks on end, can also travel around on buses to run errands within their home districts starting Tuesday, officials said.</p><p>In Beijing, state media reported authorities had apologized for delayed deliveries to residents as online shopping demand surges due to repeated lockdowns.</p><p>The city has also banned &quot;the practice of barring building gates in closed-off residential compounds&quot;, Xinhua said on Sunday.</p><p>The practice has fueled public anger as people found themselves locked in their homes during minor outbreaks. </p><p>And an influential state media commentator suggested that COVID controls could be further relaxed -- while insisting the public &quot;will soon calm down&quot;.</p><p>&quot;I can give an absolute prediction: China will not become chaotic or out of control,&quot; Hu Xijian, a columnist with the state-run tabloid Global Times said on Twitter, which is banned in China.</p><p>&quot;China may walk out of the shadow of COVID-19 sooner than expected.&quot;</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2358608" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Beijing and Shanghai were blanketed with security in the wake of nationwide rallies calling for political freedoms and an end to COVID lockdowns.

China cities under heavy policing after protests

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China cities under heavy policing after protests

Matthew Walsh with Ludovic Ehret in Beijing,

Agence France-Presse

Published Nov 29, 2022 01:46 PM PHT

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