Beijing, Europe Brief News – Violent clashes have continued for the third consecutive day in Shanghai over China’s stringent Covid restrictions.
The wave of civil disobedience is unprecedented in mainland China in the past decade, as frustration mounts over the country’s signature zero-Covid policy nearly three years into the pandemic.
The Covid restrictions protests triggered by a deadly apartment fire in the far west of the country last week took place on Sunday in cities including Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Wuhan and Guangzhou.
Other cities that have seen public dissent include Lanzhou in the north-west.
Chinese stocks fell sharply as investors raised concerns over the impact of the protests on the world’s second-largest economy.
China has recorded its highest number of daily Covid cases since the pandemic began.
Several major cities including the capital Beijing and southern trade hub Guangzhou are experiencing outbreaks.
Wednesday saw 31,527 cases recorded compared with an April peak of 28,000.
The numbers are still tiny for a country of 1.4 billion people and officially just over 5,200 have died since the pandemic began.
While China’s zero-Covid policy has clearly saved lives, it has also dealt a punishing blow to the economy and ordinary people’s lives.
The country slightly relaxed some of those restrictions a few weeks ago.
