Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday backed protesters in China to defend the right to protest in the country amid a wave of protests in several Chinese cities over COVID-19 restrictions.
Trudeau, who assured that Canadians «are watching very closely» the situation in China, said he supports people «speaking out» in protests against the Chinese government’s ‘COVID ZERO’ policy measures.
«Obviously, everyone in China should be allowed to express themselves, should be allowed to share their views and, indeed, to protest,» the Canadian head of government said Tuesday.
In this sense, the ‘premier’ has maintained that it is necessary to make sure that the Chinese authorities respect the right of journalists to inform, «to do their job».
«We will continue to make sure that China knows that we will defend human rights, we will support people who express themselves,» he added in statements to journalists.
The Chinese Communist Party’s Central Political and Legal Committee on Monday called for «cracking down» on demonstrators who have taken to the streets in recent days to protest the strict ‘Covid Zero’ policy.
The protests in different parts of China were triggered by the fire in the city of Urumqi in the western region of Xinjiang, where at least ten people died, allegedly due to the slow response of firefighters due to restrictions against the coronavirus.
As a result, the Chinese authorities have activated a large deployment of police in different cities of the country to prevent further demonstrations.
China is currently recording its highest numbers of coronavirus infections since the beginning of the pandemic. In fact, a spokesman for the National Health Commission said on Tuesday that «all localities are making solid efforts to prevent and control the epidemic».
