COVID-19 Protests

A series of protests against COVID-19 lockdowns began in mainland China in November 2022. Colloquially referred to as the White Paper Protests or the A4 Revolution the demonstrations started in response to measures taken by the Chinese government to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the country, including implementing a zero-COVID policy. Discontent had grown since the beginning of the pandemic towards the policy, which confined many people to their homes without work and left some unable to purchase or receive daily necessities.

The demonstrations had been preceded by the Beijing Sitong Bridge protest on 13 October, wherein pro-democracy banners were displayed by an unnamed individual and later seized by local authorities. The incident was subsequently censored by state media and led to a widespread crackdown on the Chinese internet. Further small-scale protests inspired by the Sitong Bridge incident ensued in early November, before widespread civil unrest erupted following a 24 November building fire in Ürümqi that killed ten people, three months into a lockdown in Xinjiang. Protesters across the nation demanded the end of the government's zero-COVID policy and lockdowns.

The subjects in protest evolved throughout the course of the unrest, ranging from discontent with the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its general secretary Xi Jinping, to calling attention to government censorship in China, inhumane working conditions brought on by the lockdowns, and human rights abuses against ethnic Uyghurs in Xinjiang. The police had largely allowed such rallies to proceed although in Shanghai, officers had reportedly arrested several protesters. There had also been reports of protestors being beaten and showered with pepper spray before detainment. By early December, China pivoted away from many of its previous COVID restrictions by reducing testing, reducing lockdowns, and allowing people with mild infections to quarantine at home, effectively abandoning the zero-COVID policy.