Xi Faces Dilemma as China Quietly Detains Young Covid Protesters
- Authorities begin targeting anti-lockdown demonstrators
- ‘We have reasonable emotions to express’: Detained protester
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In the weeks following the historic protests in China against Covid Zero lockdowns, President Xi Jinping appeared to show some empathy.
Xi told European Council President Charles Michel in early December the demonstrators were “mainly students and teenagers” frustrated with the pandemic. The Chinese leader followed that up with a New Year’s address saying it was “only natural” for 1.4 billion people to have divergent views, adding: “What matters is that we build consensus through communication and consultation.”