Several sources told DW that police in large cities like Shanghai have been randomly checking people’s phones on the street or on subways. Police have demanded people provide personal information and immediately remove apps like Telegram, Twitter or Instagram.
Others have said they were called by police and had their phones searched by authorities.
“Police warned me not to use Telegram and asked me to stop sharing information about the pandemic through the software,” said one protester with the surname Lin, who declined to be identified by his full name due to security concerns. — Read on www.dw.com/en/china-fights-lockdown-protests-by-targeting-smartphones/a-63953000
People in the Chinese manufacturing hub of Guangzhou clashed with white hazmat-suited riot police on Tuesday night, online videos showed, the latest in a string of protests that escalated over the weekend over stringent Covid-19 lockdowns.
The clashes, which follow protests in Shanghai, Beijing and elsewhere, erupted as China posts record numbers of Covid cases daily and health officials, including in the southern region around Guangzhou, announced a slight loosening of the curbs.
Mainland China’s biggest wave of civil disobedience since the 1989 Tiananmen protests comes as its economy sputters after growing at breakneck rates for decades.
That era of prosperity was fundamental for the social contract between the Communist Party and a population whose freedoms have been dramatically curtailed since President Xi Jinping took power 10 years ago…….
China’s ex-president Hu Jintao was seen being removed from a congress meeting by security as Xi Jinping continues to assert his dominance. Two security guards led the 79-year-old off stage as he looked confused as to why he was removed.
— Read on flipboard.com/video/independent/001b3b4722
“Rise up, those who refuse to be slaves,” sang one protester, a call to arms protected by its status as a line from China’s national anthem. Others posted ludicrously gushing messages about the regime and the security forces, or the phrase “shrimp moss” which in Chinese sounds like “step down.” The best-known trope was the holding aloft of blank sheets of paper by demonstrators.
The fire in Urumqi, Xinjiang, the last screams of the residents who were burned to death, other residents could only stand by the window to watch, because everyone was locked at home.
在新疆乌鲁木齐大火中，居民最后的惨叫声被烧死，其他居民只能站在窗边观看，因为大家都锁在家里。
The fire in Urumqi, Xinjiang, the last screams of the residents who were burned to death, other residents could only stand by the window to watch, because everyone was locked at home.#TheGreatTranslationMovementpic.twitter.com/Fr1gyrpPsa
— The Great Translation Movement 大翻译运动 (@TGTM_Official) November 25, 2022
The mass protests breaking out across China against the draconian lockdowns are both courageous and historic. The people have had enough. Authoritarianism never ends well. History has taught us that. The Chinese protestors are creating their own history.pic.twitter.com/y1aLGswuZU
Chinese universities are sending students home as the ruling Communist Party tightens anti-virus controls and tries to prevent more protests after crowds angered by its severe “zero COVID” restrictions called for President Xi Jinping to resign in the biggest show of public dissent in decades.
With police out in force, there was no word of protests Tuesday in Beijing, Shanghai or other major cities.
Some anti-virus restrictions were eased Monday in a possible effort to defuse public anger following the weekend protests in at least eight cities. But the ruling party affirmed its “zero COVID” strategy, which has confined millions of people to their homes in an attempt to isolate every infection.
Tsinghua University, Xi’s alma mater, where students protested Sunday, and other schools in Beijing and the southern province of Guangdong said they were protecting students from COVID-19. But dispersing them to far-flung hometowns also reduces the likelihood of more activism following protests at campuses last weekend…..
SHANGHAI (AP) — Barely a month after granting himself new powers as China’s potential leader for life, Xi Jinping is facing a wave of public anger of the kind not seen for decades, sparked by his “zero COVID” strategy that will soon enter its fourth year.
— Read on apnews.com/article/health-china-arrests-beijing-xi-jinping-1596604782d165d268d1dbc137034749
