Xi Jinping Caves To Protesters As Two Large Chinese Cities Ease COVID Restrictions After Days of Protests In the Streets

On Wednesday, the China cities of Guangzhou and Chongqing announced a relaxation of COVID restrictions, just a day after protesters in southern Guangzhou clashed with police in the latest in a series of protests against Communist Chinese Party’s COVID restrictions.

On Thursday, dozens of districts in Shanghai and Guangzhou, both of which have seen an increase in cases, were released from lockdown.

It comes as China faces widespread opposition to its zero-Covid policy.

The disturbance was sparked by a fire in a high-rise building in western Xinjiang that killed ten people last week. Many Chinese feel that the city’s long-standing Covid restrictions led to the deaths, however the authorities dispute this.

It sparked days of huge protests throughout several cities, which have largely subsided despite a substantial police presence.

The protests, which spread over the weekend to Shanghai, Beijing, and other cities, have become an unprecedented display of public defiance since President Xi Jinping took office in 2012.

According to a city official, the southwestern city of Chongqing will allow close contacts of people infected with COVID-19 who meet certain criteria to quarantine at home.

Guangzhou, near Hong Kong, also announced a relaxation of restrictions, but with record numbers of cases nationwide, there appears little chance of a major shift in the “zero-COVID” policy, which Xi has said saves lives and has hailed as one of his political achievements.

Some demonstrators and foreign security experts believe that the death on Wednesday of former President Jiang Zemin, who led the country for a decade of tremendous economic growth following the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, may serve as a new uniting point for protesters after three years of turmoil.

Ray Lei, a Shanghai medical firm worker in his twenties, said Jiang was occasionally compared favorably to Xi because of his international skills and relative openness to the West.

“So as for Jiang Zemin’s death, we feel a sense of tragedy towards the future of China’s leadership,” said Lei, who participated in Sunday’s rallies in Shanghai.

On protesters’ Telegram channels, Jiang’s legacy was being contested, with some claiming it provided them a legitimate reason to congregate.

“How similar is history,” one demonstrator wrote, alluding to former party General Secretary Hu Yaobang, whose death in April 1989 was viewed as one of the catalysts for the year’s nationwide riots.

“We can all go onto the streets today and lay chrysanthemums,” another said.

Authorities did not mention the protests when lifting lockdowns in parts of Guangzhou, a city hard hit by the recent wave of infections, and the district where Tuesday’s violence flared remained under tight control.

Hundreds of riot police clad in white protective suits and shields over their heads advanced in formation over what appeared to be torn down lockdown barriers as objects flew at them, according to a video of the clashes posted on Twitter.

Later, police were seen leading a row of handcuffed persons away.

Another video footage showed individuals throwing things at police, while a third showed a tear gas canister exploding in the middle of a small throng on a tight roadway, sending people fleeing to escape the fumes.

Reuters confirmed that the videos were shot in Guangzhou’s Haizhu district, which was the site of COVID-related unrest two weeks ago, but could not determine when the clips were shot, or what ignited the clashes.

According to social media posts, the incidents occurred on Tuesday night and were prompted by a disagreement over lockdown curbs.

The Guangzhou authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to the China Dissent Monitor, which is run by the US government-funded Freedom House, at least 27 protests took place across China from Saturday to Monday. The ASPI think tank in Australia estimated 43 protests in 22 cities.

In addition to the relaxation of restrictions in Guangzhou and Chongqing, officials in Zhengzhou, the location of a large Foxconn facility producing Apple iPhones and the site of worker discontent over COVID, announced the “orderly” restoration of enterprises, including supermarkets, gyms, and restaurants.

Previously, national health officials stated that China will respond to “urgent concerns” made by the public and that COVID guidelines should be administered more flexibly, depending on the conditions of a location.

However, while the relaxing of some measures appears to be an attempt to soothe the population, police have also began to search out protesters.

“Police came to my front door to ask me about it all and get me to complete a written record,” a Beijing resident who did not want to be identified told Reuters on Wednesday.

Another homeowner claimed that some friends who shared protest recordings on social media were hauled to a police station and ordered to sign a commitment that they “would not do that again.”

Several people told Reuters similar stories on Tuesday.

It was unclear how officials picked the people they wished to question, or how many of them were contacted.

The Public Security Bureau in Beijing did not respond.

The Communist Party’s top body in charge of law enforcement agencies stated on Tuesday, without mentioning the protests, that China would crack down on “hostile forces’ infiltration and sabotage actions.”

“illegal and criminal acts that disrupt social order,” according to the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, will not be permitted.

According to the foreign ministry, rights and freedoms must be practiced legally.

COVID has spread despite China’s efforts to isolate itself from the rest of the world and demand sacrifices from hundreds of millions of people in order to comply with endless testing and isolation.

While the number of infections and deaths is low by global standards, analysts warn that reopening before raising vaccination rates could result in widespread disease and deaths.

The economic impact of the lockdowns has been devastating, disrupting global supply networks and upsetting financial markets.