At least 10 people died in a fire in an apartment building in the Chinese city Urumqi. The citizens of the western city suspect that the Covid lockdown, relating to the country’s policies towards the pandemic, hampered relief efforts and trapped victims in their homes. The speculation turned into an online storm: the incident sparked an explosion of public anger against the Communist Party driven by Xi Jinping.
Thousands of people gathered with candles and flowers across Chinese cities this weekend to mourn the victims of the fire. On campuses, students staged vigils, many holding blank pieces of paper in silent protest. TO Shanghaisome residents they even called for the Communist Party and its leader, Xi Jinping, to step down: a rare and daring challenge.
China’s “Zero Covid” policy unleashes citizens’ anger
Xi’s “zero Covid” strategy, the main source of anger inside the country, seeks to eliminate infections with lockdowns, quarantines and mass testing. Many Chinese cities have been locked down recently due to the growing number of Covid cases. The November 27th have been recorded over 40.000 Covid cases, of which 36,525 asymptomatic, an increase compared to the 39,791 cases (of which 36,082 asymptomatic) of the previous day. This was stated by the Chinese Health Commission. No casualties are reported. Since the start of the pandemic, China has officially recorded just over 5,200 deaths from the virus, far fewer than in other countries.
The rather harsh measures have disrupted the lives and travels of hundreds of millions of people and forced many small businesses to close.
Recall that protests are relatively rare in China, where dissidents have been jailed, social media is heavily censored, and independent human rights groups have been banned. But the pervasiveness of Covid restrictions in China has created a hotbed of anger that transcends class and geography.
Asian stocks in red following protests
Asian stock markets are down, in the wake of continued fears related to the effects of the new Covid wave in China on the country’s economy. Effects that are becoming increasingly visible in the data. The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Nikkei 225 index closed today’s session down 0.42%. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange falls by 1.86%, Shanghai loses more than 1%, Seoul -1.18%, Sydney -0.42%.
Over the weekend, it emerged that China’s industrial profits accelerated their downward trend in January-October this year, compared to January-September, discounting the consequences of the new wave of Covid-19 infections. 19 and the restrictions and lockdown measures that the Beijing government has launched as part of its Zero Covid policy on both demand and economic activity.