As these subvariants spread, public trust was eroded in the Chinese government's zero-COVID policy, indicating that lockdown strategies had become ineffective and unsustainable for the Chinese economy. The spread of more infectious subvariants of the Omicron variant intensified these grievances. These complaints were difficult to suppress, despite the strict censorship of social media in China. This discontent was exacerbated by reports of poor conditions in makeshift hospitals and harsh enforcement of quarantines. Citizens were displeased with the economic effects of the lockdown, such as food shortages and the inability to work. In April 2022, the Chinese government imposed a lockdown in Shanghai, generating outrage on social media sites, such as Sina Weibo and WeChat. As these lockdowns became more widespread, they became lengthier and increasingly disruptive, precipitating increasing concern and dissent. These lockdowns began with the lockdown of Wuhan in January 2020, and soon spread to other cities and municipalities, including Shanghai and Xinjiang. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China, the Chinese government has made extensive use of lockdowns to manage COVID outbreaks, in an effort to implement a zero-COVID policy. Policemen wearing masks patrolling Wuhan Tianhe International Airport during the initial COVID-19 outbreak in January 2020. By early December, China pivoted away from many of its previous COVID restrictions by reducing testing, reducing lockdowns, and allowing people with mild infections to quarantine at home, effectively abandoning the zero-COVID policy. There had also been reports of protesters being beaten and showered with pepper spray before detainment. The police had largely allowed such rallies to proceed although in Shanghai, officers had reportedly arrested several protesters. The subjects in protest evolved throughout the course of the unrest, ranging from discontent with the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its general secretary Xi Jinping, to inhumane working conditions brought on by the lockdowns, and human rights abuses against ethnic Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Protesters across the nation demanded the end of the government's zero-COVID policy and lockdowns. Further small-scale protests inspired by the Sitong Bridge incident ensued in early November, before widespread civil unrest erupted following a 24 November building fire in Ürümqi that killed ten people, three months into a lockdown in Xinjiang. The incident was subsequently censored by state media and led to a widespread crackdown behind the Great Firewall. The demonstrations had been preceded by the Beijing Sitong Bridge protest on 13 October, wherein pro-democracy banners were displayed by an unnamed individual and later seized by local authorities. Discontent had grown since the beginning of the pandemic towards the policy, which confined many people to their homes without work and left some unable to purchase or receive daily necessities. Colloquially referred to as the White Paper Protests ( Chinese: 白纸抗议 pinyin: Bái zhǐ kàngyì) or the A4 Revolution ( Chinese: 白纸革命 pinyin: Bái zhǐ gémìng), the demonstrations started in response to measures taken by the Chinese government to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the country, including implementing a zero-COVID policy. Cities in China where protests against COVID-19 lockdowns occurredĪ series of protests against COVID-19 lockdowns began in mainland China in November 2022.
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