'Xi Jinping, step down': Protests spill onto streets in China against stringent zero-Covid policy

In a rare show of defiance, hundreds of protestors rallied against the ruling Communist Party's (CCP) zero-COVID policy in China, fuelled by anger over the deadly fire in the western Xinjiang region that claimed 10 lives.

Footages showed demonstrations being taken out in Shanghai and at universities across China on Saturday and early Sunday morning. People were heard shouting "Xi Jinping, step down, Communist Party, step down" in the videos. Other slogans raised by the protestors include "unlock Xinjiang, unlock China, do not want PCR (tests), want freedom and press freedom." 

People were also spotted shouting and pushing against men, possibly pandemic-prevention volunteers, in white whole-body hazmat suits. 

Much of the anger seems to be the result of the recent fire incident in the region of Xinjiang that killed 10 people and injured nine on Thursday. There were reports that the lockdown measures delayed firefighters from reaching the victims and it took emergency workers three hours to extinguish the blaze. Officials have denied the allegations, stating there were no barricades in the building and that residents were permitted to leave.

Meanwhile, police reportedly used pepper spray to stop the protestors who gathered at Middle Urumqi Road. A protestor, Zhao, told AP that his friends were beaten up and pepper sprayed by police. 

"Around 100 police stood line by line, preventing some protesters from gathering or leaving, and buses carrying more police arrived later," Zhao added.

A student at the prestigious Peking University told CNN that there were over 100 student protestors on Sunday morning around 1 am and the security guards were using jackets to cover a protest slogan painted on the wall. The slogan was later covered using black paint. 

Though the footage initially went viral on Chinese social media, they were soon deleted, probably by Chinese authorities who scrutinize social media to suppress defiance. 

Though these videos could not be independently verified, many confirmed to western media the protests did happen. Two Urumqi residents who declined to be named out of fear of retribution told AP that large-scale protests occurred Friday night. 

Meanwhile, there are reports that lockdown measures were eased in Xinjiang after residents held late-night demonstrations against the city's draconian measures, which have reportedly lasted over three months. 

Sensitive Xinjiang

Though protests themselves are a rare occurrence in China, such demonstrations are extremely risky in Xinjiang province, which has witnessed crackdowns against Uyghurs and other largely Muslim minorities.

According to reports, most of the people who took part in the protests were Han Chinese. 

An Uyghur woman living in Urumqi said it was because Uyghurs were too scared to take to the streets despite their rage. "Han Chinese people know they will not be punished if they speak against the lockdown. Uyghurs are different. If we dare say such things, we will be taken to prison or to the camps," a woman told AP on condition of anonymity.