Protests after apartment fire: Anger at “zero Covid” is growing in Xinjiang

Protests after house fire
Anger at ‘zero-Covid’ grows in Xinjiang

Because of several corona cases, China is imposing one of the longest lockdowns on the Xinjiang region: residents are not supposed to leave their homes for 100 days. After ten people die in an apartment fire, massive protests break out in the city.

There have been massive protests against corona lockdowns in the western Chinese province of Xinjiang. “End the lockdown,” chanted the crowd on the streets, according to videos posted to social media Friday night.

Checks by the Reuters news agency showed that the videos were released in the provincial capital, Urumqi. Other recordings showed and heard people singing the Chinese national anthem, with the lyrics “Arise! All who no longer wish to be slaves.”

China has imposed one of the longest lockdowns in Xinjiang because of the new corona wave. Many of Urumqi’s four million residents are not allowed to leave their homes for up to 100 days. There have been around 100 new corona cases in the city over the past two days. The number of infections has recently risen in the People’s Republic, making it less likely that the strict zero-Covid policy will be relaxed anytime soon.

Ten dead in house fire

The protests were triggered by a fire in a skyscraper in Urumqi. It broke out on Thursday evening, killing ten people. The view spread on social networks that the building was partially locked and that many residents therefore did not make it out in time.

At a hastily called press conference, city officials said that the Corona measures had not hindered escape and rescue. One of them said residents could have gotten out of the building faster if they’d had better knowledge of the safety precautions. About ten million Uyghurs live in Xinjiang. Human rights groups and Western governments accuse China of oppressing the Muslim minority.

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