Hundreds of people took to the streets in Beijing and Shanghai on Sunday to protest against China's zero-Covid policy in a rare outpouring of public anger against the state. China's hardline virus strategy is stoking public frustration, with many growing weary of snap lockdowns, lengthy quarantines and mass testing campaigns. A deadly fire on Thursday in Urumqi, the capital of northwest China's Xinjiang region, has become a fresh catalyst for public anger, with many blaming lengthy Covid lockdowns for hampering rescue efforts. Authorities deny the claims.
Here are the highlights of the China Covid protests:
Shanghai reported 16 new domestically transmitted symptomatic coronavirus cases for Nov. 27, up from 11 a day earlier, while 128 local asymptomatic cases were reported, up from 119 the previous day, the city government said on Monday.
Four cases were reported outside quarantined areas, compared with four the day before.
Shanghai recorded no COVID-19-related deaths for Nov. 27, unchanged from a day earlier.
On Sunday night, at least 400 people gathered on the banks of a river in the capital Beijing for several hours, with some shouting: "We are all Xinjiang people! Go Chinese people!"
AFP reporters at the scene described the crowd singing the national anthem and listening to speeches, while on the other side of the canal bank, a line of police cars waited.
Hundreds of people protested in Wuhan in central China on Sunday, livestreams showed, as demonstrations against the country's strict zero-Covid policy broke out across the country. People gathered at night, cheering and recording the protest on their mobile phones.
