'Xi Jinping step down, lift lockdowns': Protests erupt across China

In a rare outpouring of public anger, hundreds rallied in Beijing and Shanghai on Sunday to protest against Chinese President Xi Jinping's strict Covid-19 measures.



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In Shanghai, China's most populous city, people gathered yesterday night at Wulumuqi Road - which is named after Urumqi - for a candlelight vigil that turned into a protest in the early hours of Sunday.

China's hardline Covid-19 strategy is stoking public frustration, with many growing weary of snap lockdowns, lengthy quarantines and mass testing campaigns.

A deadly fire that killed 10 people in Urumqi, the capital of northwest China's Xinjiang region, has become a fresh catalyst for public anger, with many blaming lengthy Covid-19 lockdowns for hampering rescue efforts.

Many social media users surmised that residents could not escape in time because the building was partially locked down. However, authorities have denied the claims.

undreds took to the streets at Beijing's elite Tsinghua University to protest against lockdowns, one witness who wished to remain anonymous told AFP.



"At 11:30 am students started holding up signs at the entrance of the canteen, then more and more people joined. Now there are 200 to 300 people," they said.



'Freedom will prevail'

Participants sang the national anthem and "the Internationale" -- a standard of the international communist movement -- and chanted "freedom will prevail", "no nucleic acid tests, we want food", and "no to lockdowns, we want freedom", they said.