Barely a month after granting himself new powers as China’s potential leader for life, Xi Jinping is facing a wave of public anger of the kind not seen for decades, sparked by his “zero COVID” strategy that will soon enter its fourth year.
Demonstrations took place in universities and in the streets of cities including Shanghai and Beijing, with demonstrators criticizing the policy, confronting police—and some even calling for Xi to step down.
Widespread demonstrations are unprecedented since the army crushed the 1989 student-led pro-democracy movement centered on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
The cries for the resignation of Xi and the end of the Communist Party that has ruled China for 73 years could be deemed sedition, which is punishable by prison.
The possibility of more protests is unclear. Government censors scrubbed the internet of videos and messages supporting them, while analysts say unless divisions emerge, the Communist Party should be able to contain the dissent.
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