The political frustration hidden in the protests in China against the “zero covid” policy.

Although the recent wave of demonstrations in China has been encouraged by the tiredness caused by the government’s “zero covid” strategy, the movement has also it is an indication of the frustration caused by the Chinese political systemaccording to several experts.

Crowds demonstrated in various cities to demand an end to health restrictions and greater political freedoms. Given its territorial reach, this mobilization It is the most important since the pro-democracy demonstrations of 1989.

But what triggered it? A fire in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang province (north-west), which caused several victims and whose rescue, according to some, has been hampered by anticovid measures.

The discomfort, however, comes from farther away. China is one of the last countries in continue to apply a draconian health policy, which involves massive confinements, almost daily tests and periods of quarantine.

Without changes

Fed up, part of the inhabitants hoped that the restrictions they have been softened after the Communist Party (CCP) Congress held in October.

But the government has decided to strengthen them.

“People reached the boiling point because there is no clear direction to end the zero covid policy,” Alfred Wu Muluan, an expert on China politics at the National University of Singapore, told AFP.

“Before the 20th congress, political change was expectedYasheng Huang of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) tweeted.

“But the composition of the Congressional leadership [formada únicamente por aliados de Xi Jinping y partidarios del ‘cero covid’] totally shattered that expectationforcing people to act on their own”.

The discontent caused by the sanitary measures quickly added up calls for changes at the political level.

In Shanghai, several protesters on Sunday chanted the slogan: “Xi Jinping, step down! CCP, step down!”. And in Beijing others have been heard such as: “Freedom of art” or “Freedom to write”.

“I don’t remember public demonstrations in which they demanded [abiertamente] freedom of the press over the past two decades,” political scientist Maria Repnikova tweeted.

“What is truly intriguing about these demonstrations is how the attention given to this issue”, that of health restrictions, “It spilled over into other broader political issues.”

Protestersmostly young people and mobilized by the Internetthey resorted to bold strategies to bypass state censorship, waving blank sheets of paper or writing online articles filled with meaningless “positive” puns to call attention to the lack of free speech.

“The protesters are very young and the anger of the grassroots is very, very strongWu observed.

And the police?

According to analysts, what should worry the party is the protesters’ anger towards the top Chinese leadershipsomething unprecedented – according to them – since the 1989 mobilisations, severely repressed.

“Because of its scope and intensity, it is the most important youth event [celebrada] in China by the student movement in 1989,” Willy Wo-Lamp of the Jamestown Foundation told AFP.

“In 1989 the students were especially careful not to attack the party leadership in particular. This time they were very explicit [sobre el hecho de que quieren] a change of address“, he stressed.

These demonstrations, organized both in prestigious universities in Beijing and in central Chinese cities such as Wuhan and Chengdu, have a unique scope, according to Lam.

Other experts, however, have warned that they should not be compared to the death marches of 1989.

“There may be no general call for policy reform beyond ‘zero covid’,” tweeted Chenchen Zhang, a professor at Durham University. “Today’s urban youth it grew with the economic growthsocial networks and a globalized popular culture”.

In China, the few organized demonstrations tend to target local officials and businesses, as the central government is generally perceived as such a “benevolent” organism. which “comes to save people from local corruption,” said one expert.

This time, “the central government is in the spotlight because people understand that ‘zero covid’ is their policy,” Mary Gallagher, director of the University of Michigan’s Center for Chinese Studies, told AFP.

And now, how will Beijing react?

“Anger is very strong but you can’t arrest everyone,” Wu said.

Per Peter Frankopan, Professor of History at Oxford University, lThe police are in a delicate position.

“There will be considerable sympathy, especially among young police officers, for the protesters. So Giving the order to crack down also carries risks“, commented.

As for the political class, “Xi and other high-level leaders will have to demonstrate sooner or later,” Lam said. “Otherwise, the rejection may continue.”

Likewise, experts predict that the concentrations will be prolonged.

“It seems to me that discontent is growing rather than decreasing,” Frankopan noted.

AFP agency

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