By Dake Kang and Huizhong Wu -
The Associated Press
Protesters angry over strict anti-COVID-19 measures called for the resignation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities scrambled to crack down on protests on Sunday - a rare direct challenge to ruling Communist Party.
Police fired tear gas at Shanghai protesters calling for Xi's resignation and an end to one-party rule, but hours later people rallied again in the same spot.
The police dispersed the demonstration again, and a reporter saw the detained protesters being taken away on a bus.
COVID-19 protests in Beijing on November 27, 2022. Bloomberg / Bloomberg via Getty Images
The protests – which began on Friday and have spread to cities including the capital Beijing and dozens of universities – are the most widespread demonstration of opposition to the ruling party in decades.
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In a video of the protest in Shanghai verified by The Associated Press, the protesters' shouts were heard loud and clear: "Xi Jinping, resign! Communist Party, resign!"
Xi, the most powerful leader since at least the 1980s, granted himself a third five-year term as leader of the ruling party in October.
Some anticipate that he will try to stay in power for life.
Residents use their cell phones to record a protest over a deadly fire at a residential building in the Chinese city of Urumqi on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022, in Shanghai, China.AP
Three years after the virus appeared, China is the only large country still trying to stop the transmission of COVID-19.
His “zero COVID” strategy has suspended access to neighborhoods for weeks.
In some cities, millions of residents are tested daily for the virus.
This has kept infection numbers in China below those in the United States and other developed countries, but public acceptance has dried up.
People who remain in quarantine at home in some areas say they lack food and medicine.
The ruling party faced public anger after the deaths of two children whose parents said virus checks hampered efforts to receive medical help.
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The protests erupted after a fire broke out on Thursday that killed at least 10 people in an apartment building in the northwestern city of Urumqi, where some have been holed up in their homes for four months.
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This sparked a flurry of angry questions online about whether firefighters or people trying to escape were trapped by locked doors or other virus restrictions.
Around 300 protesters gathered on Saturday night in Shanghai, whose 25 million people have been confined to their homes for nearly two months since the end of March.
On a street named after Urumqi, a group of protesters carried candles, flowers and banners honoring those killed in the fire.
Another, according to a protester who preferred to remain anonymous, became more active, shouting slogans and singing the national anthem.
Still from video showing police and protesters in Shanghai on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022.AP
The protester and another, who gave only his last name, Zhao, confirmed the chants against Xi.
Like others who spoke to the AP about the protests, they did not want to be identified for fear of arrest or reprisals.
The atmosphere of the protest encouraged people to discuss topics considered taboo, such as the crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989, the anonymous protester said.
