Over the weekend, China saw something unprecedented: multiple organized protests across the country.
The pandemic protests
China maintains some of the most-severe Covid restrictions in the world, with millions living through work and school closures, mass testing and even full lockdowns for nearly 3 years. The “Stringency Index”, a composite measure developed by Oxford University of how strict Covid measures are across countries, reveals how Chinese Covid policy has diverged from much of the world this year, testing the patience of its 1.4 billion citizens.
After a fire in the city of Urumqi killed 10 people last week, reports circulated that lockdown measures may have delayed firefighters from reaching victims — sparking a wave of fresh anger. Protesters in Shanghai shouted “Xi Jinping, step down”, a rare public show of dissent against national leadership that comes with an extremely-high personal risk in China — scores of people were detained in the country’s most-populous city, including a BBC journalist.
Just a few weeks on since Xi Jinping consolidated his power within the Chinese Communist Party, a difficult economic backdrop and growing Covid restriction frustrations mean the government now faces arguably the sternest test of its power in years. Something as simple as broadcasting the World Cup, where thousands of maskless fans are gathered from around the world, now offers a dilemma for authorities, with Chinese state broadcasters showing less footage of crowd close-ups.
There is a trickle of dissent in China, Xi is likely working relentlessly to ensure it does not become a deluge.
