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Chinese President Xi Jinping's loosening of COVID-19 mitigation policies amid a wave of protests in the country was a "rare display of weakness" by the leader, according to a human rights activist and Tiananmen Square leader.
In 1989, pro-democracy protesters launched peaceful demonstrations in Beijing's Tiananmen Square to call for political and economic reform, according to Amnesty International U.K. Chinese authorities brutally cracked down on the protesters, leading to hundreds or even thousands of deaths in an incident that the Chinese government has never fully acknowledged.
A new wave of protests has recently broken out across China over Xi's zero-COVID policy, which entails strict lockdowns and other measures that have left Chinese residents increasingly frustrated. The policy has become the subject of increased scrutiny and outrage after 10 people died in an apartment fire in the city of Urumqi after lockdown measures delayed emergency teams from reaching them.
The Chinese government has again been cracking down on the demonstrations, with some reports indicating that authorities are even targeting people in their own homes to dissuade residents from joining the protests in the first place. On Wednesday, two major Chinese cities, Guangzhou and Chongqing, announced that they would be easing the COVID measures in light of the unprecedented protests, Reuters reported.
"It's hard to predict the outcome of the protests now. But we are already seeing some loosening of the zero-COVID policy, which is a rare display of weakness for Xi Jinping," Fengsuo Zhou, who was a student leader for Tiananmen Square and spent a year in prison before leaving for the U.S. years later, told Newsweek.
He said that college students participating in the demonstrations are "going through a baptism of political activism" and becoming the "masters of their own fate" by taking action.
"As a survivor of Tiananmen massacre, I am in tears while watching the protesters chanting 'end CCP [Chinese Communist Party]' in Shanghai, the birthplace of CCP," Zhou said.
He does not believe Xi's hold on power within the ruling CCP has been degraded because of the protests. But he does believe that this control may also be having a negative impact on the country's ability to handle unexpected situations.
"Xi Jinping still has complete control within the CCP. But his tight control also means that the system can't deal with surprises because his underlings aren't willing to take initiatives without explicit instructions from Xi," Zhou said. "Additionally, the zero-COVID system is exhausted already. But at this stage, he is still entrenched."
Newsweek has reached out to China's Foreign Ministry for comment.
About the writer
Zoe Strozewski is a Newsweek reporter based in New Jersey. Her focus is reporting on U.S. and global politics. Zoe ... Read more