China records rare protest against Xi and ‘Covid zero’ ahead of communist congress

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A few days before the start of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China, the capital Beijing recorded this Thursday (13) rare protests against the policy of controlling the coronavirus put in place by the regime. Images circulating on social media show that posters with criticism were placed in parts of the city.

Unusual, the small mobilization was promptly removed by police and comes as the region is with reinforced security in preparation for the event in which, it is hoped, the leader Xi Jinping will be elevated to his third term at the head of the Asian power.

Xi, who rarely receives explicit mention in the country’s even more sparse protests, was named on some of the posters. “We are going to strike schools and workplaces and remove the dictator and traitor Xi Jinping from power,” read one.

Others were about the so-called “Covid zero” police adopted in the country – and criticized even by bodies such as the WHO (World Health Organization). “We don’t want more Covid tests, we want to eat; we don’t want more lockdowns, we want to be free”, read another message in red letters.

According to information from the British network BBC, Beijing has tightened protection measures against the disease to prevent small outbreaks in the days before the congress. Millions of residents have been required to be tested for the virus every three days.

Officials have limited the number of people allowed into the capital and have discouraged residents from leaving. People who have recently traveled to other cities report that their virtual health cards, which they must present to cross borders, have suddenly started to point out that they may have Covid, preventing them from traveling.

Videos on social networks such as Twitter, which was blocked in the country, showed smoke near a road where banners with criticism could once be seen in Haidian district, where several renowned Chinese universities are located.

In the few media platforms allowed and heavily monitored in the country, search terms related to the event did not find results. But it was possible to see indirect references to the episode.

“There was a brave person in Beijing today,” one user wrote, alongside thumbs-up and rose emojis. Others on WeChat shared the song “Sitong Bridge” of the same name as the bridge where some of the tracks were placed. Afterwards, the song was censored on various music apps.

Earlier, Hu Xijin, one of the most inflammatory and well-known pro-Chinese nationalism voices and former editor of the official Global Times newspaper, wrote on Twitter that “the Covid epidemic has been well controlled. [na China]”. “In Beijing, there is no public dissatisfaction with the method of controlling the pandemic as there is in more remote parts of the country.”

The tweet, however, was deleted. And another message was posted on his profile shortly afterwards, this time in a more measured tone. “China’s political stability is solid; the country is developing very well, and the vast majority of people support the Chinese Communist Party, hoping for stability and opposing upheavals.”

The country seems to be far from changing or loosening the policy to combat the coronavirus, which since the beginning of the pandemic has led to reports of dissatisfaction. This Wednesday (12), an important adviser to the regime said that there is no timetable for abandoning the Covid zero policy.

According to a report by the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post, Liang Wannian, head of a disease response team, said officials “have been working hard to sell the pandemic”. “But at this stage, it’s hard to say which month we will definitely have reached that stage. Scientifically, it’s not possible to set a date.”

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