Again Riots Against Strict Corona Measures in the South Chinese Cities

In the South Chinese industrial city of Guangzhou (Canton), he brought severe riots tonight between the police and people tired of the strict corona measures. The local government has meanwhile weakened those measures to discourage the protest.

In other Chinese cities, too, it has been argued against the tight zero-covid policy of the Chinese government.

This morning the Government of Guangzhou announced the cancellation of the corona reductions in large parts of the city. According to witnesses, the security services that forced people to stay in their apartments have disappeared. There would also be an end to the massive testing of people.

The relaxation of the measures follows a night of severe riots in specific neighbourhoods in Guangzhou. The police attempted protected by special suits and plastic shields to regain control over the streets but were pelted with projectiles and expelled in many places.

Yesterday, more than 7,000 infections were established in Guangzhou, and the city was severely contaminated. Also, in other cities, there was a protest again, albeit quieter and on a smaller scale. Tight corona measures were also weakened under pressure from popular anger.

In recent days it has come to protest in twenty cities in China. That was the case in Urumqi, a city in Central Asia where a dozen people came up in a fire, while according to bystanders, they could have been saved if the tight corona redeitions had not been in force. That has led to solidarity protests in cities such as Shanghai, Wuhan and the capital Beijing. Also, the large Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou, where iPhones are made for Apple, has come to heavy unrest.

However, Guangzhou in the south of China turned out to be the focal point of the protest, the largest since the coming to power of communist leader Xi Jinping eight years ago. Guangzhou has been the most important economic city in southern China for centuries, and almost 19 million people live there. There were also protests in the essential economic city of Shenzhen, near the Demarcation line with Hong Kong.

The protest in China has led to sympathy; Canada and the United States, among others, have warned the Chinese government not to use violence against peaceful demonstrators.