In the most significant display of resistance to their Communist government’s authority in decades, ordinary Chinese citizens are taking to the streets of major cities to denounce the regime’s “zero COVID” authoritarianism, which has confined millions of people to their homes while disrupting China’s economy.
President Xi Jinping, now the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong, has shown almost no inclination to scrap the effort to eliminate COVID-19 transmission, although the demonstrations seem to have forced some local officials to tweak them.
What is not clear is whether the protests taking place in urban areas across China can coalesce into a larger movement for changes reminiscent of the pro-democracy uprising that occupied Tiananmen Square in 1989. After failing to negotiate with the student-led movement, the Communist Party sent in the army to crush the protests.
In this episode of History As It Happens, China analyst Weifeng Zhong of the Mercatus Center says whether the protests grow or fizzle out will largely be determined by the government’s reaction to them. Thus far the state has not resorted to force, but state-run media have made no mention of the protests and censors are scrubbing all references from social media.
“There’s no question in my mind that the Chinese government has tracked everyone who came out to protest,” said Mr. Zhong, referring to the government’s sophisticated facial recognition technology and other forms of surveillance. “There’s a COVID app, and without the [correct] code you won’t be able to even buy groceries, and many protesters carry their phones with them. That allows the government to track their locations.”
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It is no surprise that Mr. Xi’s regime is publicly pretending the protests haven’t happened. When Mr. Zhong left mainland China to attend college in Hong Kong in 2006, it was the first time he had seen any public mention of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
Listen to Mr. Zhong discuss Chinese state propaganda and the “Zero COVID” strategy by downloading this episode of History As It Happens.
