In Beijing and Shanghai, the police watch to avoid new demonstrations

The Chinese communist authorities are facing the most widespread protest movement since the pro-democracy mobilizations of 1989.

In the background, the popular fed up after nearly three years of strict zero Covid policy - with repeated confinements and now almost daily PCR tests of the inhabitants - but also deep frustrations vis-à-vis the political system Chinese.

The trigger: a deadly fire last week in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang region (northwest). Health restrictions are accused of having prevented the work of the relief workers, arguments swept away by the government on Monday.

After a turbulent weekend in many cities across the country, several protests were planned for Monday evening but did not take place, with AFP journalists in Beijing and Shanghai observing a heavy police presence. Protesters said they received calls from police who questioned them about their attendance at rallies on previous days.

In Shanghai, near where the crowd had demanded the resignation of President Xi Jinping on Sunday, employees of bars in the area told AFP that they had been ordered to close at 10:00 p.m. because of a "control of the epidemic".

Groups of agents stood near each subway exit.

Monday, during the day, AFP journalists saw the arrest of four people, one of whom was later released. A reporter counted 12 police cars parked within a 100-meter radius of Urumqi Street, the epicenter of Shanghai's protests on Sunday.

"There is nervousness in the air tonight, there are so many police around," a 30-year-old man who was there on Monday night told AFP.

- "Do not forget!" -

Monday in Beijing, the deployment of police by car and on foot, with the help of a network of surveillance cameras but also the ambient cold, also discouraged any new gathering.

Some have however managed to unite, notably in Hong Kong - shaken in 2019 by pro-democracy demonstrations - where dozens of people paid tribute, at the Chinese University, to the victims of the Urumqi fire, noted the AFP.

"Don't look away, don't forget!", They chanted.

And in Hangzhou, a city about 170 kilometers southwest of Shanghai, security forces were also visible as small protests broke out, according to images circulating on social media, some of which were geotagged by the AFP.

Chinese authorities' strict control over information and health restrictions on travel within the country make it difficult to verify the total number of protesters over the weekend.

But such a widespread uprising is extremely rare in China, given the crackdown on any form of opposition to the government.

It immediately attracted the attention of the international community.

US President Joe Biden said he was "informed of what is happening" "up close".

A spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Jeremy Laurence, called on "the authorities to respond to the protests in accordance with international human rights laws and standards".

- Reductions -

In the United States, the Chinese and Uighur communities (from the Xinjiang region) held vigils in tribute to the victims of the excesses of the zero Covid policy.

"The authorities use the pretext of Covid, but use strict confinements to control the Chinese population," a 21-year-old Chinese participant told AFP, who only gave her last name, Chen.

“They neglected human lives and caused the deaths of too many people for nothing,” she added.

If the Chinese authorities are maintaining their strict anti-Covid policy for the moment, a few gestures of relaxation have appeared in recent days.

In Urumqi on Tuesday, residents could once again travel by bus to do their shopping, after weeks of confinement in this city of four million inhabitants.

In Beijing, authorities have apologized for delays in deliveries, as demand for online shopping has exploded with the rise in lockdowns, according to state media.

The city has banned "the practice of blocking the doors of buildings in closed residential complexes", said the Xinhua News Agency, a process that has fueled popular anger.

An influential state media commentator hinted that controls could soon be eased following the protests.

"I can give an absolute prediction: China will not become chaotic or out of control," said Hu Xijin, columnist and former editor of the nationalist tabloid Global Times, via Twitter, a banned platform in China.

"China could emerge from the shadow of Covid-19 sooner than expected," he said.