Kerry Allen
BBC Monitoring, Chinese Media Analyst

Since this weekend’s protests, censorship has gone into overdrive on Chinese social media platforms, to stop people seeing and discussing them.

Tens of millions of posts have been filtered from search results, while media are muting their coverage of Covid-19 in favour of upbeat stories about the World Cup and China’s space achievements.

Blanket censorship began with the names of cities and specific streets where demonstrations were staged.

Only some 900 comments can now be seen since the beginning of time mentioning “Shanghai”, all from government accounts – so even innocuous posts about regular life are filtered.

Previously there were close to 40 million posts available to view. Only four results show for “Urumqi Road”, the site of a huge protest in the city.

As Chinese netizens have long found creative ways to bypass government filters, censors are engaged in a cat-and-mouse game to filter cryptic ways people discuss these movements. Searches for "blank sheet of paper" and "white paper" are now also only sparingly showing results.

Censorship won’t deter frustrated netizens (a nickname for people using Chinese social media apps like WeChat and Weibo) from commenting on their exhaustion with China’s Covid-19 measures.

After three years of strict measures, and the number of lockdowns only increasing in the country, it’s been evident in recent weeks that people have never felt more frustrated with strict lockdowns - especially seeing the rest of the world gathering to celebrate the World Cup without masks or social distancing.

Professor Steve Tsang, Director of the China Institute at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London says the Chinese government risks losing control if the Covid protests across China spread more widely.

If President Xi Jinping fails to repress the demonstrations, it will show "signs of weakness" and that would lead to more protests, Tsang says.

"If the government does not repress it [the protests] quickly, then the protests are likely to spread quite widely in the cities that have suffered from lockdown.

"In which case the government will risk losing control, and that's why I don't think Xi Jinping will allow the Communist Party to lose control," he says.

Prof Tsang says Xi Jinping could make some changes to the zero-Covid policies, but only after the demonstrations end.

He tells BBC News: "What may happen is that once he has restored order as he sees it in China, he may make some adjustments to remove some of the grievances that motivated a lot of the protesters to go on the streets.

But he said that will have to come after he has "basically repressed the protest".

It has been much quieter in China today, after protests against the government's strict anti-covid restrictions spread around the country over the weekend.

Many of the images are coming out of the better-known cities like Shanghai and Beijing, which is where the vast majority of foreign journalists base themselves.

But anti-lockdown protests have also been seen around the country in other major urban areas like Chengdu and Wuhan.

Here are some of the most striking images from a weekend of unusual political unrest in China:

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Image source, HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Image source, HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images

If you're just joining our coverage of the extraordinary scenes in China, let's get you up to speed.

Why is this happening?

China remains the only major economy with a strict zero-Covid policy, with local authorities clamping down on even small outbreaks with strict lockdowns, mass testing campaigns, and lengthy quarantines. The latest protests were sparked by a fatal fire in a block of flats in the north-western city of Urumqi which killed 10 people last week.

Protests in China over things like land issues are not uncommon but what is extraordinary here is the scale of the unrest and just how widespread these particular demonstrations have become.

So, where are the protests occurring?

As our Asia reporter Tessa Wong writes, suffering under Covid restrictions has become a unifying experience, breeding anger in many corners of China from major cities to far-flung regions like Xinjiang and Tibet.

And the public outrage has spilled to all corners of China - not just in the capital Beijing or the financial hub Shanghai.

Demonstrations expressing both solidarity with Urumqi and local frustrations have been held in cities including Chengdu, Wuhan, Lanzhou, Nanjing, and dozens of university campuses.

How significant are these protests?

They pose a huge and unprecedented political challenge for Chinese President Xi Jinping and everyone is watching how he will respond.

Large numbers of protesters have been holding up blank sheets of paper - a tactic to protest while avoiding censorship or arrest. But others have gone much further, and directly called on Xi to stand down.

It comes at a time when more openly defiant criticism of the Chinese Communist Party and its leadership has been growing.

The Chinese government has not acknowledged the protests or responded in any formal way, however. Despite heavy censorship, news of the demonstrations, videos and pictures have been spreading through social media and messaging apps.

Image source, .

Image source, Getty Images

It's now about 8:30pm in Beijing, and we're closely watching the situation to see whether further protests take place this evening. If you're just joining us or need a re-cap, here's the latest:

• Protests against strict Covid measures in China spread to the biggest cities with protests late into Sunday evening
• Some people have been been criticising not only Covid restrictions but also President Xi Jinping. Police in Shanghai made a number of arrests
• Apart from Shanghai and Beijing, demonstrations have also been seen - including at universities - in Nanjing, Chengdu, Wuhan and other places
• There have not yet been as many protests reported on Monday
• There has been a large police presence at the main Shanghai protest site - Wulumuqi Middle Road, where barriers have also been erected
• China’s western Xinjiang region has loosened some Covid restrictions in its capital Urumqi, where a deadly fire in the city has sparked protests around the country
• Protesters say lockdown rules hampered rescue efforts, but Chinese authorities deny this

Image source, Getty Images

China's foreign ministry spokesman has been speaking as authorities move to end protests against Covid restrictions.

Zhao Lijian said Beijing was dealing decisively with the problem, and relied upon the cooperation of the Chinese people.

China is following "the dynamic zero-Covid policy", he said, adding that the government has been "making adjustments based on the reality on the ground".

"We believe that with the leadership of the Communist Party of China, and the support of all of the Chinese people, our fight against Covid-19 will be successful," he said.

Image source, .

Image source, Getty Images

"Protests on this scale in multiple cities are very rare in China," veteran Chinese Communist party loyalist and former diplomat Victor Gao has told the BBC Radio 4's Today Programme.

Mr Gao, a thinktank analyst at Beijing-based the Center for China and Globalization, said "grievances expressed need to be taken care of" and that the protests provided a "rare opportunity" for China to reflect on its Covid policies.

He said this included considering "how China can come up with a more user-friendly policy, which will achieve minimising deaths and infections on the one hand, but also achieve more friendly relations with economic development, living standards and livelihood of the people".

"I believe China is in transition right now and the transitional period may be difficult and uncertain," he added.

When asked if he thought the authorities would crack down on the protests, he added the government "needs to listen to legitimate interests and voices expressed in the protests".

Why is China so far behind?published at 11:57 Greenwich Mean Time 28 November 2022

11:57 GMT 28 November 2022

James Gallagher
Health and science correspondent, BBC News

Most of the world used lockdowns to buy time in order to develop and roll out Covid vaccines.

China is still dependent on strict controls.

The country developed its own vaccines, but they are not as good as the mRNA technology - such as the Pfizer and Moderna shots - used elsewhere and they have not been given to enough people.

Two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine gives 90% protection against severe disease or death vs 70% with China's Sinovac, external.

And far too few of the elderly - who are most likely to die from Covid - have been immunised.

Another consequence of stopping the virus in its tracks is there is very little "natural immunity" from people surviving infections.

All this leaves China with a massive problem. The new variants spread far more quickly than the virus that emerged three years ago and there is a constant risk of it being imported from countries that are letting the virus spread.

If China doesn't lock down at first sight of the virus then it risks the horrors of the early days of the pandemic.

Estimates from March this year, external suggested ending zero-Covid could overwhelm hospitals and lead to around 1.5 million deaths.

The choice is between being dependent on lockdowns in the long term and solving the country's immunity problem.

Tessa Wong
BBC News, Singapore

Image source, Getty Images

For the past three years, the patience of one billion people in China has been stretched, growing thinner and thinner with every lockdown and round of mass Covid testing.

Now, that patience has snapped.

As thousands take to the streets in cities protesting against Covid restrictions, an exhausted nation now asks how much longer must they endure Xi Jinping's zero-Covid policy.

In one of President Xi's biggest political tests yet, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) must now negotiate both mounting fury and a deep-rooted fear of Covid, as the country feels its way to an exit from the pandemic.

Read more here.

Some more reaction now to the arrest of Ed Lawrence, a BBC journalist who was detained while covering a protest in Shanghai on Sunday. He was later released.

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly tweeted that the arrest was "deeply disturbing".

Grace Tsoi
Reporting from Hong Kong

Image source, Reuters

Many young women are at the forefront of the Covid protests across China and are showing up as prominent voices in footage emerging on social media.

In one of the viral videos, a female student at the prestigious Tsinghua University - also the alma mater of Chinese leader Xi Jinping - led the crowds in chanting they would no longer kneel before "public power”.

There is a lot of grievance and anger among young Chinese women, Feng Yuan, co-founder of Beijing-based NGO Equality, told the BBC.

“From the chained mother of eight in Xuzhou to the assaulted women in Tangshan, women have been silenced whenever they want to speak out,” she said.

Yang, who is in her early 20s, joined the protest in Shanghai last night.

“In the past, there were leaders in the mass movements or there were plans,” she said, but the Covid protests have instead been “spontaneous”, with no organisation.

More now on BBC journalist Ed Lawrence, who was covering a protest in Shanghai on Sunday as an accredited journalist but was arrested and detained by Chinese authorities.

Lawrence was beaten and kicked by the police during his arrest, the BBC said, adding that he was held for several hours before being released.

UK Business Secretary Grant Shapps said this morning that the government had “considerable concern” over the arrest.

“There can be absolutely no excuse whatsoever for a journalist, who was simply covering the protests going on, being beaten by the police. That’s a considerable concern," he told Sky News.

At a regular press conference on Monday, China's foreign ministry spokesman did not address the police violence and arrest of an accredited foreign journalist.

"Based on what we learned from relevant Shanghai authorities, he did not identify himself as a journalist and didn't voluntarily present his press credentials," Zhao Lijian said.

Lawrence re-tweeted the BBC's statement on Monday and added that he was aware of at least one local who had also been arrested "trying to stop the police from beating me".

The Foreign Correspondents' Club of China said it was "extremely disturbed" by the treatment of reporters covering the protest.

"Journalists from multiple outlets were physically harassed by police while covering the unrest, and at least two journalists were detained," the FCC said., external

It noted that under Chinese law, foreign journalists were "entitled to unfettered access to report in China".

Image source, Reuters

As we've been reporting, the origins of these protests are rooted in China's strict "zero-Covid" policy, which has kept millions under intermittently stringent restrictions for nearly three years.

But what are the rules as they stand?

China's central government is telling local authorities to impose strict lockdowns in their areas when they detect a Covid-19 outbreak - even if only a handful of cases are found.

It is one of the toughest anti-Covid regimes in the world and these local lockdowns last until no new infections are reported.

Tens of millions of people have been living under some kind of lockdown since the latest wave of cases emerged.

Such is the scale of these measures that the Chinese government website listing streets and buildings with outbreaks, external (which also classifies them as low or high risk) runs to over 120 pages - with tens of thousands of places under sever restrictions.

Mass testing is carried out in places where cases have been reported. People found to have Covid-19 are isolated at home or placed under quarantine at a government-supervised facility.

Businesses and schools are closed, and so are all shops except for those selling food.

However, some rules have been relaxed. Infected people are now kept in isolation for only eight days - five days at an isolation centre, plus three days of isolation at home - rather than 10 days.

Read more here.

Image source, Getty Images

China’s western Xinjiang region has loosened some Covid restrictions in its capital Urumqi, where a deadly fire in the city blamed on virus controls has sparked protests around the country.

Ten people died in Thursday's fire. Urumqi has been under strict restrictions since August and people have been confined to their homes for weeks on end. Internet users have been demanding to know whether residents had been able to exit the building during the blaze.

From Tuesday residents of Urumqi, which has a population of four million, can only travel around on buses to run errands within their home districts, officials said at a press conference today according to AFP news agency.

Certain essential businesses in “low-risk” areas can also apply to restart operations at 50% capacity, while public transport and flights will start “resuming in an orderly manner”, officials also said.

Image source, Reuters

Let's now hear from people on the ground in China, who have been speaking to the Reuters news agency.

Syler Sun, who works in the advertising industry in Shanghai, said that "people are unhappy. They have to send a message to authorities and make them a bit uncomfortable."

They added:

Lemar, 20, a student boxing coach who was protesting in Beijing, said: "We've come here to ... oppose the pandemic prevention measures. We live in an autocratic world, and what we hope to see the most is for China to have true democracy and freedom."

Also in Beijing, 24-year-old Summer Kay said: "The pandemic and the codes have brought us so much torture. And now there are more people becoming unemployed, and it's becoming an ordeal for kids and the elderly to get medical attention.

Image source, Getty Images

Paper maker Shanghai M&G Stationary has denied rumours that it has taken all A4 papers off shelves for national security reasons.

Blank pieces of paper have become a symbol of defiance for protesters in China, especially among students at universities. They are expressing their anger over the country's Covid-19 restrictions. It is a form of silent protest, but a way for them to avoid censorship or being arrested.

On Monday, the company posted an emergency notice on the Shanghai Stock Exchange saying a forged document has been circulating online.

M&G officials said production and operation was all normal and that they had notified police.

Suranjana Tewari
Asia business correspondent

The situation in China has upset financial markets in the Asia-Pacific region, with concerns growing about the impact on growth in the world’s second largest economy.

Protests and the resulting political unrest are bad for business, but it’s the record Covid numbers that really have investors worried.

Widespread lockdowns and mass testing under President Xi Jinping’s zero-Covid strategy are likely to hit manufacturers. It will also mean fewer people buying and driving vehicles.

Since China is also the world’s largest importer of oil, energy traders are expecting lower demand for crude to power those factories and cars.

As a result, the price of oil dipped by around 3% on Monday.

It’s adding to an uncertain time for the energy markets, as the war in Ukraine and rising interest rates are already weighing on sentiment.

Image source, Supplied

China has blamed "forces with ulterior motives" for linking a deadly fire in the Xinjiang region to strict Covid measures.

Protesters have blamed lockdown rules for hampering rescue efforts in the city of Urumqi, but authorities deny this, insisting residents in the block were not locked in their homes or the building and could get out.

The tragedy prompted an outpouring of anger on social media and triggered protests in Urumqi and then in other parts of China.

In response to a question at a news briefing about the disaster, foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said: "On social media there are forces with ulterior motives that relate this fire with the local response to Covid-19."