PROTESTS PICK UP AGAINST XI

A SERIES OF PROTESTS ARE ERUPTING IN MANY PARTS OF CHINA AGAINST XI JINPING'S ZERO-COVID-19 POLICY. WHILE SOME EXPERTS ARE CALLING IT 'TIANANMEN 2.0', OTHERS SEE THIS AS A CHALLENGE TO HIS AUTHORITY

- NAMRATA HASIJA

The 20th Party Congress consolidated Xi Jinping's absolute power in the Communist Party of China (CCP) but soon after a series of protests erupted in many parts of China against the Zero-COVID-19 policy. Some experts are calling it 'Tiananmen 2.0', while others see this as a challenge to Xi Jinping's authority. However, what needs to be probed is whether these protests are coordinated or outbursts against the lockdowns in China. What will be the CCP's response in case these protests become more widespread and violent? Will Xi Jinping end the Zero-COVID-19 policy which he glorified in his 20th Party Congress address?

Weibo, Chinese social media, and social media handles are not allowed to operate in China. There have been videos of protests right in the heart of the CCP. A video from Beijing on November 27 at Tiananmen Square showed people chanting, "We want universal values", "We want freedom, equality, democracy, the rule of law", "We do not want dictatorship" and "We do not want personality cult".

The last two take direct digs at President Xi but this is not the first time he has been criticized directly for his COVID-19 policy. In 2020, Zhao Shilin, a retired Professor at China's Minzu University, Deputy Director of the Culture and Arts Commission, and former member of the CCP posted two open letters to President Xi Jinping. Guo Yuhua, a prominent Professor in the Sociology Department of Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University, indirectly criticised Xi Jinping, and the Chinese leadership in her interview with Radio Free Asia 3, published on March 3, 2020. Reputed Tsinghua University Professor Xu Zhangrun authored a 6,246-word essay on February 5, captioned 'Angry People No Longer Fear', which went viral on China's social media.