{"id":263578,"date":"2022-11-27T22:22:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-27T22:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/haftavasool.com\/haftavasool\/?p=263578"},"modified":"2022-11-27T22:22:00","modified_gmt":"2022-11-27T22:22:00","slug":"long-live-the-people-beijing-residents-at-frigid-anti-lockdown-rally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/haftavasool.com\/haftavasool\/blog\/2022\/11\/27\/long-live-the-people-beijing-residents-at-frigid-anti-lockdown-rally\/","title":{"rendered":"“Long Live The People”: Beijing Residents At Frigid Anti-Lockdown Rally"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Protests have sprung up across Shanghai and Beijing in the wake of a deadly fire in Urumqi<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Beijing: <\/b><\/p>\n

One by one Beijingers braved the cold Sunday night after word of a rally spread on social media — a silent vigil for the victims of a deadly fire as well as a protest against China’s harsh Covid-19 restrictions.<\/p>\n

Within hours hundreds had gathered on the banks of Liangma river in near freezing temperatures, an AFP journalist at the scene saw, many holding blank white papers — a symbolic protest against censorship.<\/p>\n

Others lit candles and tea lights at a small makeshift altar, where flower bouquets were placed and a white piece of paper read “for the victims who perished in the Urumqi fire on November 24.”<\/p>\n

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Protests have sprung up across Shanghai and Beijing in the wake of a deadly fire in Urumqi, the capital of the western province of Xinjiang — deaths that many blame on strict lockdowns preventing emergency services from reaching the victims in time.<\/p>\n

“We are all Xinjiang people! Go Chinese people! Long live the people!” those rallying by the river — which cuts through some of Beijing’s most affluent neighbourhoods — chanted Sunday.<\/p>\n

Others were more explicitly anti zero-Covid, shouting “No to nucleic acid tests, we want food!”<\/p>\n

Some chanted slogans recalling a string of tragedies linked to China’s strict zero-Covid rules.<\/p>\n

“Do not forget those who died in the Guizhou bus crash\u2026 do not forget freedom,” one said, referring to an accident in September when a bus transporting residents to a Covid-19 quarantine facility crashed, killing 27 of those on board.<\/p>\n

“Remember the… Xi’an pregnant woman who died, those who could not access medical treatment in Shanghai,” another said.<\/p>\n

Some people yelled “We will not forget!”, while others said, “Don’t be a people, be yourself!”<\/p>\n

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Some gently sang “The Internationale” — the old anthem of the international communist movement — and the national anthem.<\/p>\n

Others waited quietly, filming the scene — rare in China, where mass protests are routinely quashed by the state — on their phones.<\/p>\n

The mood was largely calm, but keeping a watchful eye were at least a dozen police cars parked on surrounding roads. Some police officers walked through the crowd, filming the scenes.<\/p>\n

Some youth made speeches, while others shouted slogans demanding “Freedom of art”, and “freedom to write!”<\/p>\n

Drivers were heard honking their horns in support of the protestors as they drove on the nearby ring road.<\/p>\n

“Because of you Beijing is proud!” an onlooker on the other side of the river yelled.<\/p>\n

An AFP reporter saw police trying to disperse the crowd just before 10:30 pm Beijing time (1430 GMT). Some protesters stood their ground, shouting “don’t leave!”<\/p>\n

And an hour later, many were still there and showed no signs of leaving.<\/p>\n

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)<\/i><\/p>\n

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