Only 40 would be in Beijing. However, at the end of November there were also anti-lockdown protests in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Wuhan. In most cases the place of detention is unknown. Chinese Generation Z proves to be less “nationalistic” or “apathetic” than previously thought.
Beijing () – Dozens of young Chinese, mostly women and journalists, are in prison for having participated in the “blank page revolution”, the massive demonstrations that at the end of November pressured the Chinese government to revoke the Xi Jinping’s draconian “zero covid” policy.
On the days of the riots, students launched a form of dissent, in which each protester stands still waving a completely blank piece of paper. In several cities in the country, people took to the streets to protest against the sanitary restrictions – which have also caused the death of numerous people in a fire in Urumqi (Xinjiang) – and against the restrictions on freedom of expression.
Videos posted online during the days of the riots show uniformed and plainclothes policemen in Shanghai grabbing protesters and throwing them into buses to take them away amid screams and tears.
According to information collected by Radio Free Asia, there are 40 protesters who are still imprisoned in Beijing. In the capital, the most intense protests took place on November 27 in the Liangmahe district. The police detained many people during the following days (and until mid-December). In some cases the place of detention was not reported and in others it was learned that they were in the Chaoyang Detention Center.
People related to the detainees explain that often the relatives remain silent about what happened because they have been intimidated by the authorities. The number of jailed protesters could be higher, as there were also demonstrations in Guangzhou (Guangdong), Chengdu (Sichuan) and Wuhan (Hubei).
The Chinese Generation Z – 280 million people born between 1995 and 2010 – has launched a direct challenge to the power of Xi: with their blank sheets, the Chinese youth have dealt a heavy blow to his image as supreme leader.
For the Chinese president, it is the most delicate internal threat. Analysts note that in the country’s new generation there are not only “nationalist netizens” or “apathetic” who are not interested in politics, but also people who want more rights and freedoms. Xi will have to show great skill in placating discontent among a segment of the population facing mounting employment problems.
What is happening in China is an evolution from the “lying down movement”: young people doing the bare minimum at work or school, fed up with grueling working hours, rising costs of household goods, consumption and prohibitive housing prices. A passive attitude that the authorities consider a threat to the great plans for “national renewal” that Xi intends.
The social pact between the Chinese Communist Party and the people, with the promise of personal enrichment in exchange for political disengagement, seems to no longer hold up among the young, who have less and less confidence in the leaders.
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