I initially ignored the various posts about Chinese protests on Twitter because it was hard to imagine they were significant enough to merit mention. But there may be something here One thread. His feed is tracking them
I don’t think it will come to that, but hopefully the domestic unrest will take Xi’s eye off of Taiwan. The rumor, which might have its basis in intelligence, is that if Russia had overrun Ukraine on schedule, then China was going to make its move no later than July. Typhoon season followed by winter makes any kind of opposed cross-Strait operation unwise until next April at the earliest. Anything that take China’s focus off of Taiwan is positive news for all of us.
Protests significant enough to merit AP coverage Amid lockdown protests, calls for Xi to step down Amid lockdown protests, calls for Xi to step down - Tampa Bay Times For more great content like this subscribe to the Tampa Bay Times app here:
Good analysis from Jordan Schneider and his China Talk Substack newsletter. These are significant protests On Thursday, a fire in Urumqi, Xinjiang, apartment complex killed at least ten. Many on social media suspected that Covid Zero restrictions like iron-barred windows and roadblocks inhibited evacuation and firefighters’ access, contributing to an increase in casualties. The next day, largely Han protests in Urumqi numbering in the thousands gathered to express their outrage with current policies. At least 79 university campuses across China have seen protest actions, ranging from a sizable gathering at Tsinghua to graffiti at Beida. Friday and Saturday, thousands gathered in the streets of Shanghai, Beijing, Wuhan, Chengdu, Guangzhou and other cities, making various demands including the end to Covid Zero, freedom of expression and media, and even the fall of Xi Jinping and the CCP. The Inititum made a useful map illustrating the scale of the unrest and has more comprehensive coverage than anything I’ve seen in western media. If you can read Chinese, I’d encourage you to subscribe and support their work. China's Protests: Harbinger or Passing Storm?
Hard to know what to think about such reports. On the one hand, it seems to shatter the myth that the Chinese are not loathe to demonstrate and that protestors are summarily disappeared. On the other hand, there are suggestions that Western agitators are behind the protests. See: Thailand.
