Commentary
Chinese protests have erupted in many cities in communist China as citizens are increasingly fed up with Xi Jinping’s continuing draconian “zero-COVID” lockdowns and the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) authoritarian rules that dictate and control every aspect of Chinese society.
Condemnations have been forthcoming from various world leaders and even the United Nations. But the Biden administration has mostly remained silent as the protests have escalated and the Beijing regime has ratcheted up its response.
Not a good showing by the “arsenal of democracy.” And didn’t the Democrats campaign for a whole year on the issue of “saving our democracy”? Perhaps their silence is intended to “save China’s whole-process people’s democracy.”
Let us examine the issue.
The Protests and Riots
Chinese citizens have been suffering mightily under the CCP’s “zero COVID” policy for over two years at the cost of freedoms, lives, and businesses. Sporadic public protests were leading up to the 20th Party Congress in late October, including on Oct. 13 in Beijing’s Haidian District, with banners proclaiming these slogans: “Don’t want PCR tests, want to eat,” and “Don’t want a Cultural revolution, want reforms.”Besides banners and other physical forms of protest, the Chinese have resorted to the use of social media to share their experiences and dissenting memes, videos, pictures, and posters targeted at the CCP, including via Apple’s AirDrop, which facilitates phone-to-phone networking to share information and avoid the CCP’s censors.
As reported by Vice, one poster making the rounds via AirDrop has included these slogans: “Oppose dictatorship, oppose totalitarianism, and oppose autocracy,” all of which are illegal expressions in communist China. That is until Apple implemented an update in early November that limited users in China to only 10 minutes to share files with non-contacts, “meaning they’re limited in their ability to use the feature to immediately share info among strangers,” according to Insider. This is a perfect example of a multinational corporation kowtowing to the Chinese communists!
From piecemeal protests and periodic postings of banners and posters, Chinese demonstrations have grown to be larger and more widespread in recent days in several Chinese cities, including at a gigantic Foxconn factory in Guangzhou, which is the world’s largest iPhone factory (see videos here, here, here, here, and here).
Protests were also sparked by a fire in Urumqi that killed 10 people on Nov. 24. CNN posted a video showing that the CCP’s “zero-COVID” measures almost certainly delayed the response to that fire, which has enraged many Chinese.
Protesters gather along a street during a rally for the victims of a deadly fire in Xinjiang's capital city of Urumqi, as well as a protest against China's harsh COVID-19 restrictions, in Beijing, on Nov. 28, 2022. Michael Zhang/AFP via Getty Images
Social media users and various Western media outlets have reported more protests since Nov. 26:
- COVID testing sites in Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu Province, were reportedly destroyed by protesters.
- At King Pingxi’s Palace in Beijing, protesters shouted, “End the lockdown!”
- Shanghai protesters were chanting and singing: “We went freedom, not virus check. We want democracy, not dictatorship. Take down the CCP.”
- Students took part in protests in more than 50 universities across China.
- On Nov. 27, CNN posted a video montage of the protests across China.
- Newsweek reported on Nov. 28 that “a video of protesters in Wuhan demonstrating against China’s Zero-COVID policy has gone viral” and has been viewed over 1.8 million times so far.
Given the massive democratic protests unfolding and apparently escalating in China, what has been the response from the international community?
World Response
There haven’t been many responses from foreign governments so far. However, as One India reported on Nov. 28, the United Nations “urged China to respect the right to peaceful protests in the country … and not to detain people just for participating in the peaceful agitation.” U.N. Human Rights Office spokesman Jeremy Laurence was quoted as saying, “We call on the authorities to respond to protests in line with international human rights laws and standards. No one should be arbitrarily detained for peacefully expressing their opinions.”Various foreign diplomats have made muted statements of support. In the UK, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told the Chinese regime to “take notice” of the protest. In Germany, the co-leader of the Green Party said the protests showed the “bravery” of many people.
Members of the local Chinese community hold placards at a vigil in support of the protests against Beijing's "zero-COVID" policy taking place across China, in Melbourne, Australia, on Nov. 28, 2022. William West/AFP via Getty Images
US Response
The U.S. response has also been muted at best. On Nov. 28, a U.S. National Security Council spokesperson was quoted by Deutsche Welle as saying, “We’ve long said everyone has the right to peacefully protest, here in the United States and around the world.”The neutral message from the U.S. Embassy in China on Monday only conveys a safety advisory to U.S. citizens in China: “We encourage all U.S. citizens to keep a 14-day supply of medications, bottled water, and food for yourself and any members of your household.”
There was nothing official from the U.S. State Department website about the protests. However, it did find the time to post this media note on Monday: “Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons Stern’s Travel to Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia.”
Meanwhile, the White House found the time to promulgate this on the same day: “Presidential Memorandum to Promote Accountability for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence.”
Both releases indicate Biden administration priorities in the face of the ongoing protests in China!
And nary a spoken word from President Joe Biden.
Concluding Thoughts
Methinks the tepid response from the Biden administration to the democratic protests in China is just the latest gift to China in payback for past remuneration from the CCP, as this administration continues to pursue engagement and “healthy competition” policies with the communists.Official silence from the United States is a precious gift to Xi Jinping as he seeks to preserve his Orwellian “whole process people’s democracy” in the face of increasing protests by Chinese citizens due to his signature “zero-COVID” policy and the CCP’s authoritarian rule. This is a shameful response from the world’s only democratic superpower.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
