China begins investigating those protesting actions against zero covid policy

Those present at the Beijing demonstrations told Reuters that Chinese authorities began investigating some people who had gathered at the weekend protests against the Kovid-19 restrictions, with police remaining in large numbers on the city’s streets.

Two protesters told Reuters that people who identify themselves as Beijing police asked them to report their Sunday night activities in writing to a police station on Tuesday. A student also said that he was asked by his faculty if he had been in an area where the protest was taking place and was asked to make a written statement.

“We’re all helplessly erasing our history of speech,” said another witness to the protest in Beijing, who asked not to be identified. He said the police asked how they heard about the protest and why they had come.

It was also unclear how the authorities had identified the persons who would question their participation in the protests, and how many of these persons the authorities intended to question.

The Beijing Public Security Bureau did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that rights and freedoms should be exercised within the framework of the law.

Three years after the pandemic, growing discontent with strict Covid containment policies sparked protests over the weekend in cities thousands of miles away.

The biggest wave of civil disobedience in mainland China since President Xi Jinping took power a decade ago comes as the number of Covid cases hit daily records and large parts of many cities face renewed lockdowns.

A health official said complaints about Covid controls were mainly due to their strict enforcement.

“The issues highlighted by the public are not in themselves aimed at preventing and controlling the epidemic, but are instead focusing on simplifying prevention and control measures,” Cheng Youquan told reporters, adding that authorities will address urgent issues.

Covid is spreading despite China largely isolating itself from the world and demanding significant sacrifices from its population to comply with frequent testing and prolonged lockdown.

The lockdowns have exacerbated one of the sharpest slowdowns in growth China has experienced in decades, disrupting global supply chains and upsetting financial markets.

Chinese stocks and the yuan rose as investors bet that signs of civil discontent could lead to easing of restrictions.

Plans to increase the vaccination rate among the elderly have also helped raise market sentiment.