Third, protest events can in some cases serve to strengthen the regime. Local officials have a range of options available to address even widespread dissent, and often deploy them together-from crushing demonstrations and arresting protest leaders, to hiring local thugs to rough up protesters, to censoring online discussions, to allowing citizens to vent their frustrations online in a controlled manner, to actually addressing core concerns of protesters. Protests like this are not rare in China local protests addressing environmental issues or in response to public safety incidents occur with relative frequency. Though these protests are larger in scale, their grievances are similarly specific and their aims limited.Ĭhina’s internal security apparatus is practiced at containing social unrest. In Shanghai, the targets of criticism are perceived incompetence and corruption at the local level, and concrete issues like the scarcity of food and other key goods. Sometimes they do rise to the level of demands for substantial changes, but the vast majority of protests aim to secure immediate objectives. However, protests like these have occurred throughout the Party-state’s existence. However, there is little reason to believe that the unrest in Shanghai will lead to a crisis for the central government.įirst, there is a tendency among Western observers to assume that the target of protests is the central government. This outpouring of dissent has led to reports predicting a coming “ crisis” for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Xi Jinping. Videos capturing these scenes of dissent have circulated online, including images of Shanghai residents kicking down barriers erected in front of residential buildings, videos of people confronting police and quarantine enforcers, and a viral video known as “Voices of April” (“四月之声”) capturing sentiments of helplessness and anger have flooded Chinese social media, despite the efforts of China’s censors to remove it. How sustainable are current government approaches to the latest wave of infections, and where are they likely to lead? - The EditorsĬlear signs of public discontent have appeared both in person and online in China’s social media sphere since the start of the Shanghai lockdown. In megacities like Shanghai, lockdowns have underscored vast inequality and the unequal distribution of government services-particularly for migrant workers. In agricultural areas, the lockdowns have raised concerns that key crops will go unharvested. Online, Shanghai netizens have been sharing lockdown horror stories amid a rare showing of widespread public dissent. In the meantime, it is clear the hard lockdowns have come with costs. With new research showing significant leaps in efficacy of Sinovac among the elderly after a third dose, the country has been ramping up its vaccination efforts. Though China’s overall vaccination rate is around 88 percent, just 80 percent of those over 60 had been fully vaccinated as of early April. As of mid-April, 45 cities across the country were under some kind of lockdown. In late March, China started its largest lockdown in more than two years, with most of Shanghai’s 26 million residents confined to their homes in an effort to battle the rapid spread of Omicron.
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