Some protesters called for Xi Jinping to step down as anger mounts in China over restrictive ‘zero-COVID’ policies. The crowds in Shanghai chanted, “Lift lockdown for Urumqi, lift lockdown for Xinjiang, lift lockdown for all of China!”, according to a video said to be of the demonstration that circulated on social media. Their anger boiled over after Urumqi city officials held a news conference about the fire in which they appeared to shift responsibility for the deaths onto the apartment tower’s residents. In Beijing, some residents under lockdown staged small protests or confronted local officials over movement restrictions, with some successfully pressuring them into lifting the curbs before a schedule. The New York Times said smaller protests and vigils also occurred at Peking University and the Wuhan University of Technology.
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