The Covid protests in China

 

The coronavirus infection in China Experts: "The tip of an iceberg - a development we have not seen for many years" 

 

The Covid protests in China stand out for several reasons, says China expert Björn Jerdén to SVT Nyheter - partly because of the large spread, and partly because they unite different social groups. 

 

The protesters who openly chant slogans against the government risk severe punishment. 

 

- It is brave people who end up on the streets [...] You feel a sense of hopelessness and you see no end to this politics that is going on while the rest of the world has moved on and learned to live with the virus, says Jerdén. 

 

That so much material from the protests is leaking indicates that what we are seeing is the tip of an iceberg, says Asian researcher Magnus Fiskesjö to TV4 Nyheterna. 

 

- It indicates that this is an enormously dramatic development, something we have not seen for many years. 

 

The state apparatus's censorship is at full speed to stop the spread - the next step may be to shut down the internet or resort to violence, he says.

The protests are spreading – hundreds on the streets of Wuhan  

 

The protests in China have on Sunday spread to Wuhan, the Chinese city of millions where the covid-19 pandemic began. It shows video footage that AFP has geolocated. 

 

On a street in the central parts of town, hundreds of chanting people can be seen protesting and recording the events on their mobile phones.  

 

At the same time, hundreds of Beijingers are said to have gathered by a river in the capital, shouting "we are all Xinjiangers" with white sheets of paper - a symbol of protest against censorship - in their hands.  

 

After a deadly fire in Ürümqi in the western region of Xinjiang, whose rescue efforts critics believe were delayed by the covid restrictions, unusual protests have broken out in at least seven cities, AP writes.  

 

Among other things, it has been demonstrated at two universities in Beijing and in the giant city of Shanghai. In Ürümqi, the restrictions have been eased somewhat after the protests.