China’s “zero COVID” policy has sparked protests of historic proportions in several cities, while the regime tries to suppress them with excessive police brutality and social media censorship
Demonstrations of historic proportions against the restrictive measures to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus pandemic and in favor of more freedoms, have broken out in Kia in the last week.
China’s “zero COVID” policy, with its draconian restrictive measures, has sparked major protests in several Chinese cities in recent days, which the regime has repressed with excessive police brutality, tanks on the streets and social media censorship.
Watch video: Xi Jinping took the army to the streets: Tanks and armored vehicles in the center of cities
Indicative of the brutality of the authorities, China’s top security official demanded that “enemy forces be crushed” while on Sunday police arrested a BBC journalist covering the protests in Shanghai.
On the occasion of the latest events, the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that the “golden era” in the relations between London and Beijing, as the bilateral cooperation was characterized by the conservative government in 2015, has now ended.
To stop citizens from talking about the latest anti-Covid protests, the words “Shanghai” and “Urumqi” – cities at the center of the protests – were banned from search platforms such as WEIBO.
So the Chinese started using terms like “white paper” and “A4” – a reference to the sticky white paper that has become a symbol of the protests.
Locations of planned gatherings are given without explanation or communicated by map coordinates or a map faintly discernible in the background of a post.
Many people rely on virtual private network (VPN) software to bypass China’s firewall and use encrypted messaging apps.
Social media users say citizens have created groups on the Telegram messaging service to share information about their cities, while dating app messaging services are also being used in the hope they are subject to less scrutiny, according to a protester from the Beijing, which declined to be named, citing security reasons.
Protesters are also using platforms to share tips on what to do if caught, such as how to wipe data from a phone.
Police are checking phones for VPNs and the Telegram app, some social media users say.
Chinese protesters delete VPN on your smartphone before you get on the subway!
The police will check your smartphone like here in Shanghai.#China #ChinaUprisingThread #ChinaProtests #Shanghai pic.twitter.com/atRBFq5OST— 247ChinaNews (@247ChinaNews) November 29, 2022
Meanwhile, amid intense talks between Europeans on how to position themselves vis-à-vis China, European Council President Charles Michel left on Tuesday night for Beijing, where he will hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday
The EU considers China — at the same time — a “partner”, “economic competitor” and “systemic adversary”, a formulation adopted in 2019 and – against the background of worsening tensions between Beijing and Washington – the EU seeks to reduce the abysmal deficit of the current trade balance with the Asian giant.
Charles Michel is asked to synthesize the positions of countries such as Germany, which has great economic interests in China, on the one hand, and countries such as Lithuania, which caused anger in Beijing because it accepted a delegation from Taiwan, on the other.
Read the News today and get the latest news.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
