Corona In China: Public protests opposing China's stringent COVID-19 lockdown have intensified in the country amid calls for Xi Jinping to step down as coronavirus cases continue to rise sharply with 40,000 new infections reported on Sunday. Huh. Chinese citizens posted and shared several videos of public protests, including a massive demonstration in Shanghai, where people chanted slogans against the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) and President Xi Jinping on social media and Twitter.

Several protesters were reportedly being arrested. There are also videos of protests from various university campuses where students came out in the open to oppose the lockdown. Students were also seen demonstrating at universities in Beijing and Nanjing, among other places. Media sources said the latest unrest followed a protest in the remote northwestern city of Urumqi, where a tower block fire killed 10 people blamed on lockdown rules.

The report said that although Chinese officials denied that the deaths were due to Covid, authorities in Urumqi issued an apology late on Friday, vowing to "restore order" in a phased manner by easing Covid restrictions. Was promised. According to the BBC report, during the protest in Shanghai on Saturday night, people were heard chanting slogans like 'Xi Jinping, step down' and 'Communist Party, step down'. People were seen holding empty banners, while others lit candles and laid flowers in tribute to the victims in Urumqi.

According to a BBC report, such a demand is an unusual sight within China, where any direct criticism of the government and the president can result in harsh punishment. Reports said protesters chanting anti-government slogans were taken away and in some cases punched or pushed onto police vehicles. The BBC reported that the snap lockdown has sparked anger across the country and that Covid restrictions have recently triggered violent protests more widely, from Zhengzhou to Guangzhou.