Amnesty International on Sunday called on the Chinese authorities to exercise restraint in the face of protests in several parts of the country following a fire in the city of Urumqi in the western region of Xinjiang, where at least 10 people died, allegedly due to the slow response of firefighters because of restrictions against the coronavirus.
Although the regional authorities have partially lifted the restrictions — at a time when the country is recording a record number of daily cases not seen since the outbreak of the pandemic, 34,000 in the last day — protests against the strict policy of containing the virus have been fuelled by criticism of the authorities’ lack of transparency and their policy of repression of freedom of expression.
Indeed, in recent hours, social networks have been filled with videos of silent protests in Beijing or Wuhan, some of which Amnesty has been able to verify, as well as confirming the arrest of a woman in Urumqi for «spreading rumors». Amnesty is also working to verify the «dozens of detainees» during Saturday’s overnight protests.
In Shanghai, hundreds of university students have lit candles to mourn the dead and held up blank sheets of paper, a common symbol in anti-censorship protests.
The U.S. network CNN reports that groups of students can be heard in the images chanting slogans such as «Resign, Xi Jinping! Retreat, Communist Party!». «I don’t want the Covid test, I want freedom!» and «I don’t want dictatorship, I want democracy!», they added.
«Instead of penalizing the people, the government should listen to their calls. The authorities should allow people to express their thoughts freely and protest peacefully without fear of reprisals,» Amnesty deputy regional director Hana Young calls for.
«The government must also promptly, effectively and thoroughly investigate the Urumqi fire, to prevent a recurrence, provide justice for the victims and their families, and show people that it is responsive to their grievances,» she added.
