COVID Lockdown Protests Erupt In Beijing, Xinjiang After Deadly Fire

Protests have erupted in Beijing and the far western Xinjiang region over COVID-19 lockdowns and a deadly fire on Thursday in a high-rise building in Urumqi that killed 10 people (with some reports putting the number as high as 40).

Crowds took to the street in Urumqi, the capitol of Xinjiang, with protesters chanting “End the lockdown!” while pumping their fists in the air, following the circulation of videos of the fire on Chinese social media on Friday night.

2/ one significant trigger for the protest was a deadly fire in a resident building.
dozens people died due to lockdown setting stopped fire fighters and fire engines coming inside the block. pic.twitter.com/26soQld816

— 巴丢草 Bad ї ucao (@badiucao) November 25, 2022

Protest videos show people in a plaza singing China’s national anthem – particularly the line: “Rise up, those who refuse to be slaves!” Others shouted that they did not want lockdowns. In the northern Beijing district of Tiantongyuan, residents tore down signs and took to the streets.

3/ protestors from Urumqi were singing China‘s national anthem while waving a flag.
Quite common in China’s protest，we call it ‘举着红旗反红旗‘ wave the flag while against it.
Its a self-protraction meaning ’ i am against a policy not the nation/CCP‘. pic.twitter.com/XqworKWUnb

— 巴丢草 Bad ї ucao (@badiucao) November 25, 2022

北京天通苑北一区
居民撕破隔离铁皮，走上街头 pic.twitter.com/McL6DCMMVq

— 李老师不是你老师 (@whyyoutouzhele) November 26, 2022

Reuters verified that the footage was published from Urumqi, where many of its 4 million residents have been under some of the country’s longest lockdowns, barred from leaving their homes for as long as 100 days.

In the capital of Beijing 2,700 km (1,678 miles) away, some residents under lockdown staged small-scale protests or confronted their local officials over movement restrictions placed on them, with some successfully pressuring them into lifting them ahead of a schedule. –Reuters

People are really fed up. #china pic.twitter.com/q4mZnloGOG

— China Uncensored (@ChinaUncensored) November 25, 2022

According to an early Saturday news conference by Urumqi officials, COVID measures did not hamper escape and rescue during the fire, but Chinese social media wasn’t buying it.

“The Urumqi fire got everyone in the country upset,” said Beijing resident Sean Li.

【新疆的朋友私信发我的，不敢在朋友圈里发，会被派出所抓，求您推广，让大家知道，他们根本没办法逃生】 pic.twitter.com/rUV8QoEwz9

— 方舟子 (@fangshimin) November 26, 2022

6/ Video of ‘anti zero-covid-lockdown protest’ from Urumqi,Xinjiang, China after 100+ days lockdown

Many people took videos and post on social media inside of China.

All the little screens in the video is a spark of fire and life pic.twitter.com/yUVxpduq4i

— 巴丢草 Bad ї ucao (@badiucao) November 25, 2022

According to Reuters; 

A planned lockdown for his compound “Berlin Aiyue” was called off on Friday after residents protested to their local leader and convinced him to cancel it, negotiations that were captured by a video posted on social media.

The residents had caught wind of the plan after seeing workers putting barriers on their gates. “That tragedy could have happened to any of us,” he said.

By Saturday evening, at least ten other compounds lifted lockdown before the announced end-date after residents complained, according to a Reuters tally of social media posts by residents.

This anti-lockdown protest in the suburbs of Beijing can be geolocated to the South Gate of the Tiantongyuan North #1 Community. From the inside looking out.
At 40.0731, 116.4109https://t.co/PjkDqEeeMO https://t.co/GzGJfHp7Lk pic.twitter.com/yBzA6y8j4s

— Nathan Ruser (@Nrg8000) November 26, 2022

On Nov 23, when a fire broke out in #Urumqi , people’s doors were locked from outside. Fire truck couldn’t get closer either( see my previous tweet). The latest figure says 44 were burnt to death, including a 3 y/o kid. That’s one of the reasons for today’s protests. pic.twitter.com/s4E0JHk4wQ

— Jennifer Zeng 曾錚 (@jenniferzeng97) November 25, 2022