#CHINA: The #COVID outbreak is reportedly forcing people to burn the bodies of their families members on the streets as a result of emergency services and crematoriums' inability to accommodate the mass numbers of deceased. Heartbreaking. pic.twitter.com/Q5TYcG5VJG
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…….
Hundreds of people spilled out onto the streets here in Beijing tonight to demand an end to zero covid. The gathering began as a candlelight vigil for victims in Urumqi, Xinjiang who were killed in a lockdown fire because firefighters failed to reach the blaze. pic.twitter.com/dEXxI0E0Zi
Seemingly spontaneous protest converging again at Urumqi Road in Shanghai, despite heavy police presence. People are shouting “let them go 放人!” 😮 Apparently in reference to those arrested at previous protests. pic.twitter.com/JjOvtcqFnr