Tag: Demonstrations, Protests and Riots

China Withdraws 6 Diplomats From U.K. After Consulate Scuffle

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LONDON — China is withdrawing six diplomats from Britain after a police inquiry into a violent clash during a demonstration at China’s Consulate in Manchester led to a standoff between London and Beijing, Britain’s foreign secretary said on Wednesday. The British authorities had asked six Chinese officials to waive diplomatic immunity and allow an investigation into how a pro-democracy protester from Hong Kong was injured after being dragged onto the consulate grounds and beaten on Oct. 16. Instead, the Chinese authorities decided to repatriate six officials, including one of its…

China’s Youths, Stung by Years of Covid Rules, Fear Grim Job Future

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Mandy Liu, a 21-year-old university student in Beijing, believes that anyone who has lived in China during the pandemic can see that the country’s future is looking increasingly uncertain. Covid restrictions were stifling, and employment opportunities were grim. She is set to graduate next year with a degree in tourism management and has submitted more than 80 applications for jobs. She has not received a single offer. Many young people had followed what the Chinese Communist Party told them to do, only to be left disillusioned, Ms. Liu said. “What…

‘I Will Keep Fighting’: China’s Protesters Say It’s Bigger Than Covid

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After the Chinese government announced this week that it would retreat from its harsh Covid policies, many Chinese expressed their gratitude to the protesters who had boldly spoken out against the punishing restrictions. After three long years, people throughout China could try to get back to normal life. “Thank you, brave young people” was a widely shared comment on Chinese social media platforms. Some people posted Time magazine’s new “Heroes of the Year” cover, honoring Iranian women, and compared China’s protesters to them: “Salute the brave women of Iran. Salute…

China’s ‘Zero Covid’ Policy, in Pictures

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For a long time during the coronavirus pandemic, China’s aggressive approach to stamping out cases worked. It has kept deaths from Covid-19 much lower than the rest of the world, most notably in comparison with the United States. But in recent months, that approach, called “zero Covid,” seemed increasingly outdated. China’s residents were still subject to snap lockdowns, mass testing and harsh quarantines while the rest of the world adapted to living with the virus. Frustrated citizens demonstrated on the streets in late November, some even calling for the Communist…

China’s ‘Zero Covid’ Policy Changes, Explained

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The Chinese government on Wednesday unveiled a broad easing of its strict “zero Covid” policy, after an extraordinary outburst of discontent in mass street protests a week ago. The changes do not dismantle the policy, but they represent a loosening of measures that have dragged down the economy by disrupting daily life for hundreds of millions of people, forcing many small businesses to close and sending youth unemployment to a record high. Here are the highlights from the announcement. Testing The new rules move China away from the use of…

China Eases ‘Zero Covid’ Restrictions in Victory for Protesters

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The Chinese government announced on Wednesday a broad easing of its exceptionally stringent Covid restrictions, an implicit concession to public discontent after mass street protests in more than a dozen cities a week ago challenged Beijing’s authority. The changes are not a complete dismantling of China’s “zero Covid” policy, but still represent a considerable loosening of measures that have dragged down the economy by disrupting daily life for hundreds of millions of people, forcing many small businesses to shutter and driving youth unemployment to nearly 20 percent, a record high.…

China’s Leader Emphasizes Unity at Jiang Zemin’s Funeral

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China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, heaped praise on the late former president, Jiang Zemin, on Tuesday in a show of unity among the ruling elite just over a week after nationwide protests challenged Beijing’s authority. Despite its atheism, the ruling Chinese Communist Party sends off its deceased leaders with a near-religious solemnity, and its ceremony to commemorate Mr. Jiang, who died Wednesday at 96, was no exception. Mr. Xi delivered a 51-minute eulogy for Mr. Jiang that was full of accolades while avoiding hints of any personal and political differences…

Chinese Abroad: Worried, Wary and Protesting

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Huanjie Li, 26, has never been more worried about her family. And she has never been more worried about sharing that fear with them. Ms. Li, who grew up in northeastern China and moved to Queens more than six years ago, has not spoken to her relatives overseas since widespread demonstrations began there. “I don’t want them to get accidentally flagged as foreigners trying to talk about Chinese national safety,” Ms. Li said. As the largest protests since the 1989 Tiananmen Square uprisings ripple across China, Chinese people in New…

China Stems Wave of Protest, but Ripples of Resistance Remain

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In central China, students chanted demands for more transparency about Covid rules, while avoiding the bold slogans that riled the Communist Party a week earlier. In Shanghai, residents successfully negotiated with the local authorities to stop a lockdown of their neighborhood. And despite pressure from officials, a team of volunteer lawyers across China, committed to defending the right of citizens to voice their views, fielded anxious calls from protesters. The recent wave of demonstrations that washed over China was prompted by frustration about pandemic restrictions, but the unrest also sometimes…

China Protests Raise Hopes of Activists Abroad

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Three years ago in Melbourne, Australia, Ronnie Li and other students from mainland China chanted in support of their government. They were trying to drown out a rally promoting the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, the biggest challenge to Beijing’s authority in years. Ms. Li, 23, has since changed her mind about that issue — and about much else. In recent days, she said, she and other mainland Chinese students have demonstrated in Australia against Beijing’s policies, calling for more freedom in China, including an easing of Covid restrictions. “Everyone…