The latest protests were sparked by a fire at a high-rise apartment complex in the northwestern region of Xinjiang on Thursday. The fire, in the city of Urumqi, has killed at least 10 people and questions have been raised about whether China’s strict lockdown policy prevented residents from escaping the flames. Officials deny this and a fire service spokesman inspired further anger after appearing to blame residents for failing to “save themselves”. Many Chinese cities have been under strict lockdown for months – many of Urumqi’s 4 million residents, for example, have been unable to leave their homes for any reason since August. In Shanghai on Saturday night, police used pepper spray on about 300 protesters who had gathered on Middle Urumqi Road with flowers and candles and holding signs reading “Urumqi November 24” in memory of the fire victims. In videos shared on social media and verified by Sky News, protesters were seen chanting slogans such as “Xi Jinping, resign, Communist Party, resign”, “Unlock Xinjiang, unlock China”, “I don’t want PCR (testing) , I want freedom’ and ‘freedom of the press’. Click to subscribe to Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts A protester who gave only his last name, Zhao, told The Associated Press that one of his friends was beaten by police and two of his friends were pepper-sprayed. He said the police stomped on him as he tried to stop them from removing his friend. He lost his shoes in the process and left the protest barefoot. Image: Protests in Shanghai on Saturday. Photo: AP Reuters reported it had seen a video showing Beijing residents in an unspecified part of the city marching around an outdoor parking lot on Saturday, chanting “end the lockdown.” Beijing resident Sean Li told Reuters that a planned lockdown for his compound was called off on Friday after residents spotted workers barricading their gates. Residents had complained to their local chief and convinced him to cancel the plans. Read more:Beijing ‘effectively under lockdown’ Lockdown frustration grows in China’s heartland Image: Photo: AP Li said: “The Urumqi fire has upset everyone in the country. “This tragedy could have happened to any of us.” Read more: Who are the Uyghurs and why are they facing oppression from China? Urumqi saw protests on Friday night, when a vigil for fire victims turned into a protest against the blockade. People chanted “open, open” in videos shared on social media before being deleted by censors on Saturday. But protesters won some concessions, with parts of the city considered low-risk allowed a little more freedom from restrictions over the weekend. Protests against government policy are rare in China, but even more unusual in Xinjiang. Xinjiang, home to China’s persecuted Uyghur minority, has experienced some of the country’s worst quarantine restrictions, with reports of people starving earlier in the year. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 2:40 Frustration grows as COVID-19 cases rise China’s zero-Covid-19 policy was initially welcomed by citizens, who saw it as minimizing deaths while other countries struggled with massive casualties. But support has waned in recent months as the Chinese grow weary of restrictions that go far beyond what was seen during the UK lockdown, for example. China is the only major country still fighting the COVID-19 pandemic with mass testing and strict lockdowns.
