Explained: The challenge before China’s Xi Jinping as rare lockdown protests spread

It’s rare to see a protest in China. The protest below, apparently in central Beijing’s liangmaqiao, is astounding #China #protests pic.twitter.com/UHJCqqF1YG — Tom Mackenzie November 27, 2022 Why did the protests erupt? Even children were killed pic.twitter.com/cTSt6F5yXc — Jack Poso 🇺🇸 November 28, 2022 Videos, which are going viral on social media, despite China’s censorship, show residents marching toward a government building chanting, “Lift lockdowns!” The next morning authorities in Urumqi promised to lift the lockdown in stages but did not address the protests or clarify the timeline for easing restrictions. #China #Chengdu pic.twitter.com/qnktz2b62o — )) November 27, 2022 On Monday, police detained protesters from the Wulumuqi Middle Road, which has emerged as the main protest site in Shanghai. Another opinion piece published by the news agency Xinhua said, “Practices have proven that our Covid measures can stand the test of history, they are scientific and effective… Perseverance prevails.” However, China’s rising COVID numbers and the anger on the streets tell a different story.