Chinese use blank sheets of paper to protest against government

Chinese people protest against the Covid Zero policy adopted by the communist government of China.| Photo: Reproduction/Social Networks

Blank sheets of paper have become the weapons of the Chinese to protest against the exaggerated measures adopted by the Chinese communist government to contain the Covid-19 epidemic. Images and videos circulating online show university students in cities such as Nanjing and Beijing holding sheets of paper in silent protest. The tactic would be to avoid censorship and repression, frequent in China. This could be the biggest wave of protests since Xi Jinping took power from the Communist Party.2020

In Shanghai, a crowd began to gather on Saturday night (26) to hold a candlelight vigil for the victims of Urumqi, who died after a fire broke out in a residential building. There are allegations that aid to victims has been hampered by the barriers imposed by the so-called Covid Zero policy, adopted by China. According to witnesses and videos circulating online, a group later chanted “Down with the Communist Party, down with Xi Jinping,” in a rare public protest against the country’s leadership.

This Sunday (27), protesters also gathered at Tsinghua University in Beijing, where they sang the Chinese national anthem while holding blank sheets of paper. In Hong Kong, in 2020, activists also held up blank sheets of paper in protest. The same tactic was used in Moscow during protests against Russia’s war with Ukraine.2020