China’s anti-lockdown protest reaches Wuhan, where Covid started | 5 points | World news

Hundreds of people took to the streets of China’s Wuhan – the city where the deadly pandemic began in 2019 – as anti-Covid lockdown protests gained momentum for a third day on Sunday. A wave of civil disobedience spread across major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai as public anger grew over tougher measures to adhere to China’s zero-Covid policy.

Videos have gone viral on social media platforms showing protesters tearing down metal barriers, rolling over Covid testing booths and demanding an end to lockdowns as they clash with security officials in Wuhan. Hindustan Times could not independently verify the videos.

A street in the center of Wuhan, as tracked by the AFP news agency, multiple live streams – quickly observed – showed many people walking through the streets playing music and taking pictures on their phones. Similar demonstrations also broke out in Chengdu.

What we know so far:

• The protests were triggered by a fire at a residential high-rise in the city of Urumqi – the capital of the northwestern province of Xinjiang – that killed ten people. Social media users shared videos of the incident accusing Chinese authorities that the strict lockdown was a factor in the death toll.
• Over the weekend, students on several university campuses around China gathered with empty books to protest against the lockdowns. “We just want our basic human rights. We cannot leave our house without a test. It was an accident in Xinjiang that pushed people too far,” a 26-year-old protester in Shanghai, who declined to be identified, told AFP.
• What began with a candlelight vigil in coordination with the deaths in Urumqi, soon turned into full-throated protests with titles such as “down with Xi Jinping” and “lockdown” were heard in videos from the demonstration sites. Photos and videos also show graffiti on the walls of universities that have since been covered up.
• Meanwhile, police kept a heavy presence across Shanghai and other cities where demonstrations were witnessed. The authorities also suppressed online discussion of the protest, with related phrases being scrubbed from the Twitter-like Weibo platform as soon as footage of the gatherings emerged.
• While the rest of the world is easing lockdowns to restore normalcy, China has spent the last three years living with some of the strictest Covid restrictions. China has been reporting another worrying spike in Covid cases in the past few days, with a 24-hour record of nearly 40,000 on Saturday – prompting authorities to extend the restrictions.