Enlarge image
Police forces in Beijing (on November 27)
Photo: THOMAS PETER / REUTERS
The scenes from the weekend made headlines around the world.
Apparently, the government in Beijing was extremely careful not to allow large-scale protests against the hard zero-Covid policy again.
A massive police presence in several Chinese cities has prevented a possible resurgence of the demonstrations.
In the capital Beijing and in metropolises such as Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hangzhou, security forces have been on the streets since Monday.
In many cases, passers-by were stopped and had to show their mobile phones, which were checked for suspicious content or programs such as tunnel services (VPN) to circumvent Chinese censorship.
In Beijing, the Liangma River promenade near the diplomatic district, where hundreds had demonstrated on Sunday evening, was particularly secured.
In Shanghai, barriers had been erected on Wulumuqi Road to prevent larger crowds like at the weekend.
After calls for new protests on social media, a massive police presence was also seen on People's Square in the eastern Chinese port metropolis, as eyewitnesses described.
Thousands of people took to the streets in several cities in the People's Republic over the weekend to protest against the rigorous measures of the zero-Covid policy, such as repeated lockdowns, forced quarantines, mass tests and constant monitoring of corona apps.
In Beijing, "Unlock the lockdown" and "We don't want PCR tests, we want freedom" were shouted.
These were the largest protests in China since the pro-democracy movement, which the military brutally crushed in 1989.
The Chinese authorities' strict crackdown on the protests over the corona restrictions has raised concerns in the West.
The UN called on Beijing on Monday not to arbitrarily arrest participants in peaceful protests.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called on the Chinese leadership to respect freedom of expression.
Chinese authorities are responding to the wave of protests in several cities with heavy police presence and online censorship.
The White House is also watching the government's actions
Anger at the strict zero-Covid policy in China had erupted in nationwide protests in the past few days.
The trigger was a house fire that killed ten people in the city of Urumqi in the north-western Chinese region of Xinjiang.
The accident initially led to protests in Urumqi.
On the Internet, many users blamed the strict corona measures for the slow rescue of the residents.
Federal President Steinmeier underlined the importance of freedom of expression.
"Freedom of expression is an important asset," he told Deutsche Welle.
He therefore hopes that the state authorities in China will respect this right.
In view of the strict corona restrictions in China, he “understands that people are showing their impatience on the streets”.
The White House said President Joe Biden was "closely monitoring" the unrest in China.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, "People should be allowed freedom of assembly and peaceful protest." USA and anywhere in the world.
This also applies to the People's Republic of China.«
jok/dpa