HONG KONG: Protests against China's strict zero-COVID policy and restrictions on freedoms have spread to at least a dozen cities around the world in a show of solidarity with rare displays of defiance in China over the weekend.
Small-scale vigils and protests have been held in cities in Europe, Asia and North America, including London, Paris, Tokyo and Sydney, according to a Reuters tally, organised by expatriate dissidents and students.
Dozens of people attended most of the protests with a few drawing more than 100, the tally showed.
The gatherings are a rare instance of Chinese at home and abroad uniting in anger.
The protests on the mainland were triggered by a deadly fire in China's Xinjiang region last week that killed 10 people who became trapped in their apartments, in a disaster blamed in part on lockdown measures. City officials denied that.
Since President Xi Jinping assumed power a decade ago, authorities have clamped down hard on dissent, tightening controls on civil society, the media and the internet.
But the strict policy aimed at stamping out COVID with lockdowns and quarantine has become a lightning rod for frustrations.
The policy has kept China's death much lower than many other countries but it has come at a cost of long spells of confinement at home for many millions and damage to the world's second-biggest economy.
Nevertheless, Chinese officials say it must be maintained to save lives, especially among the elderly given their low vaccination rates.
Some overseas protesters said it was their turn to take on some of the burden their friends and family had been enduring.
"It's what I should do. When I saw so many Chinese citizens and students take to the streets, my feeling is they have shouldered so much more than we have," said graduate student Chiang Seeta, one of the organisers of a demonstration in Paris on Sunday that drew about 200 people.
"We're now showing support for them from abroad," said Chiang.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told a regular briefing on Monday that China was not aware of any protests abroad calling for an end to the zero-COVID policy.
State media and government spokespeople have not made any official comment on the protests in China.
BLAME
It has been common in recent years for overseas Chinese students to rally in support of their government against its critics but anti-government protests have been rare.
Outside the Pompidou Centre in Paris, some protesters brought flowers and lit candles for those killed in the Xinjiang fire.
Some blamed President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party and demanded their removal from office.
Defiance towards Xi has become increasingly public after a dissident hung a banner on a Beijing bridge last month ahead of a Communist Party Congress, criticising Xi for clinging to power and the zero-COVID policy.
About 90 people gathered at Shinjuku, one of Tokyo’s busiest train stations, on Sunday, among them a university student from Beijing who said any protests in China against COVID rules would inevitably focus blame on the Communist Party.
"At the core of it is China's system,” said the student, who asked to be identified as just Emmanuel.
But some protesters were uncomfortable with more belligerent slogans.
An organiser of a protest planned for later on Monday at Columbia University in New York, who asked to be identified as Shawn, said she would steer clear of sensitive issues such as calls for Taiwan independence and China's mass internment of ethnic Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
"We have spoken to some activists from Taiwan and Xinjiang ... We've agreed to refrain from (that)," said Shawn from the Chinese city of Fuzhou.
"We know that may alienate a lot of people."
Reuters
Mon Nov 28 2022
People protest against China's coronavirus disease (COVID-19) curbs in front of the Chinese embassy in London, Britain November 27, 2022 in this still image from a social media video. - Alexander Mak/via REUTERS
Kerjasama bersepadu Persekutuan, Negeri selesai isu prasarana sekolah daif Sabah
Kerajaan Sabah akan terus menjalin kerjasama erat dengan kerajaan Persekutuan dalam usaha memberi suasana dan nafas baharu kepada prasarana sekolah di negeri itu.
Pantau Belanjawan: Tadbir Urus: ‘Spot check’ nilai prestasi penjawat awam
Semua ketua jabatan kerajaan perlu membuat semakan mengejut bagi memerhati pelaksanaan kerja kakitangan bawahan bagi memastikan tiada amalan negatif berlaku dalam jabatan masing-masing agar perkhidmatan awam kekal cekap, relevan dan berkesan. Apakah kaedah dan pendekatan terbaik untuk melaksanakan usaha ini?
Leftenan Muda Min Youn satu-satunya penuntut bangsa Cina tamat latihan Komando GGK 2024
Min Youn yang berasal dari Setapak, Kuala Lumpur itu merupakan graduan perakaunan daripada Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR).
Seorang maut, nahas dua kereta di Ipoh
Kemalangan melibatkan dua buah kereta iaitu jenis Honda City dan Peugeot.
Play Store kini benarkan muat turun dua aplikasi serentak
Berdasarkan laporan 9to5Google, ciri ini diberikan secara berperingkat kepada pengguna Android bermula dengan peranti\
Che'gu Bard mengaku tidak bersalah dua pertuduhan
Badrul Hisham mengaku tidak bersalah, selepas semua pertuduhan dibaca di hadapan Hakim, Siti Aminah Ghazali.
Tahanan PPA tekad jadikan kemahiran dalam “tirai besi” sebagai mata pencarian
Kehidupan di dalam tirai besi memberikan keinsafan kepada Fifi, Apit dan Bulat.
Ringgit susut berbanding dolar AS pada sesi awal
Pada 9 pagi, ringgit merosot kepada 4.7715/7810 berbanding mata wang Amerika Syarikat (AS) daripada 4.7650/7710 pada Jumaat.
Guna semula bangunan pawagam lama, bangkit suasana klasik
Ia bukan sahaja mampu menarik ramai pelancong tetapi juga mampu memulihara bangunan warisan yang masih elok dan ditatap oleh generasi kini.
Mesyuarat Khas WEF: PM Anwar jumpa 50 pemimpin industri, perniagaan global
PM yakin lebih banyak pelabur bernilai tinggi akan pilih Malaysia sebagai destinasi pelaburan.
Pahang rancang wujudkan zon perindustrian di setiap daerah
Kerajaan Pahang rancang wujudkan zon perindustrian di kesemua 11 daerah di negeri ini bagi menggalakkan kemasukan lebih banyak pelaburan asing khususnya dari China.
Amerika Syarikat mungkin haramkan firma dron China, DJI
Amerika Syarikat kini turut sedang pertimbangkan DJI sebagai ancaman sekuriti, dan mungkin melakukan perundangan untuk mengharamkan DJI.
Kru Shenzhou-18 berjaya masuk stesen angkasa Tiangong
Kru Shenzhou-18 China berjaya memasuki stesen angkasa Tiangong selepas kapal angkasa yang dinaiki mereka bercantum dengan kombinasi stesen angkasa secara automatik pada 5.04 pagi Jumaat.
MAQIS tahan dua ekor anjing dari China, identiti mengelirukan
Pemeriksaan mendapati nombor mikrocip yang diimbas pada badan anjing tidak sepadan dengan nombor mikrocip yang diikrar dalam permit import.
Malaysia muncul destinasi utama pengembangan perniagaan di ASEAN - Kajian UOB
Malaysia telah muncul sebagai negara paling penting dalam ASEAN untuk diceburi perniagaan, seperti yang ditunjukkan oleh Kajian Tinjauan Perniagaan UOB 2024 (PKS & Perusahaan Besar).
Industri hiburan penghubung antara Malaysia dan China - Shila Amzah
Shila Amzah percaya bahawa industri hiburan mempunyai pengaruh yang besar dan memainkan peranan penting dalam memupuk hubungan diplomatik Malaysia-China.
TPM mahu lebih ramai anak muda Sabah diberi pendidikan TVET
Beliau ditawarkan oleh China untuk menghantar 2,000 pelajar Malaysia bagi mengikuti program TVET dengan biasiswa penuh ke negara itu.
Perang dicetuskan blok Barat untuk terus kekal berkuasa - Penganalisis
Kemunculan kuasa-kuasa besar baharu seperti China yang mempunyai kekuatan ekonomi sangat tidak dijangka oleh Barat.
Harga minyak diunjur naik akibat konflik Iran-Israel
Harga minyak mentah Brent diunjur melonjak sehingga AS$95 setong berbanding sekitar AS$90 setong ketika ini berdasarkan jangkaan senario terburuk daripada konflik Iran-Israel.
Piala Uber: Tiada istilah mengalah buat Mei Xing
Pemain itu bagaimanapun mengakui sedikit terbeban dengan ketiadaan pasangan utama negara Pearly Tan-M Thinaah dalam kejohanan berkenaan.