<h5>Why are people in China protesting?</h5>  <p>Protests are ongoing in China regarding the country's zero-Covid policy. With the increase in the number of protesters in multiple major cities, some started calling for greater democracy and freedom. Hundreds of protesters have even called for the removal of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The citizens of the country have asked for the removal of Jinping as he has overseen mass testing, forced lockdowns, enforced quarantine, etc., for nearly three years, which has affected the lives of the citizens.
The protests began after a deadly fire in an apartment in Urumqi, the capital of China’s Xinjiang region, killed at least ten people and injured nine others. This caused anger among the public after videos of the incident appeared to show lockdown measures delaying firefighters from reaching the victims.
Urumqi residents marched to a government building and chanted for the end of the lockdown. The local government announced that the lockdown would be lifted but did not specify at what time. This did not satisfy the public, and the protests quickly spread beyond Xinjiang, with residents taking to the streets in cities and universities across China.</p> <h5>So, what is China’s zero Covid policy?</h5> <figure>
        <img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/newsahoot.appspot.com/o/protests-in-china-over-its-covid19-policy%2F1232131.jpeg?alt=media&token=c2a5273a-f081-463c-95fc-c8dc1d8734fa" alt="So, what is China’s zero Covid policy?" >
        <figcaption>Protesters take to the streets to protest against the Chinese government. </figcaption>
      </figure> <p>China has one of the world's toughest policies against Covid. Even if only a few Covid cases are discovered, local authorities must impose strict lockdowns. Mass testing is conducted in areas where cases have been reported. People with Covid are quarantined at government facilities or their houses.</p>
<p>Shops, schools, offices, etc. are also closed. Only emergency services (medicine shops, shops selling foods, etc.) are allowed to remain open. Millions of citizens are affected by this. Some local governments have taken extreme measures, such as making workers sleep inside factories in order to work while quarantined.</p>
<p>The goal of this policy is to keep cases as low or as close to zero as possible. All the lockdowns have affected the earnings of the people. Unemployment is also increasing in the country. All these have caused the citizens to protest against the government.</p> <h5>What is the significance of the protests?</h5>  <p>While protests do occur in China, they are rarely this huge with such direct targeting of the central government and the country's leader. This is a different type of protest than the local protests seen over the last two decades. Those protests were against local officials, while this one is targeting the whole Chinese government.</p>
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After nearly three years of economic hardship and disruption to daily life, the public has lost patience with China’s zero Covid policy.</p> <h5>How has the government responded to the protests?</h5>  <p>While protests in several parts of China were dealt with peacefully, authorities in some cities reacted more forcefully. Chinese police were out in force in Beijing and Shanghai to prevent further protests. Protesters also clashed with police in some places. Videos and photos have emerged showing police pushing, dragging, and beating protesters.</p>
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Two foreign reporters who were covering the protests in the country were also harassed by the police. The spokesperson of the Chinese government also avoided commenting on the ongoing protests. We hope that this issue in China gets resolved soon and peacefully. </p>

Protests are going on in China regarding the government’s anti-Covid policy. How did the protest start and what is the government doing about it? Let’s read to find out more.

Protests in China Over its COVID-19 Policy

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