Hundreds of pensioners in China demonstrated on the streets of Wuhan today against reform of the health insurance system, according to accounts in AFP and images circulating on social media.

The protests in China are unusual in a country where the maintenance of social stability is a dogma and where the authorities generally stifle any reaction in its infancy. However. in recent months an unprecedented wave of anti-government protests “swept” the country, especially due to the health restrictions against Covid-19.

As part of China’s health insurance reform, the amount of health coverage paid monthly to pensioners by local governments has been reduced since February 1. Because of this decision, pensioners had held a rally last week outside Wuhan city hall.

Today a crowd of retirees gathered in front of the entrance to Zhongshan Park, a popular walking spot in Wuhan.

Video posted on social media showed security guards outside the park’s entrance forming a human chain to prevent protesters from entering.

The reform of China’s health insurance system is a broad undertaking that will be implemented gradually from 2021.

“If Beijing fails to implement it properly, this creates the risk of worsening social tensions and anger” against the government, analysts from the consulting firm SinoInsider, which specializes in Chinese politics and economics, predict in their report.

The reform comes as local government finances have been strained after three years of strict ‘zero Covid’ policies. This strategy, which came at the beginning of December, was mainly based on the implementation of generalized and free diagnostic tests. The social movement captures the “financial difficulties experienced by local authorities”, according to SinoInsider.