Police arrived at peaceful Covid protest in Beijing, on Liangma river. Candles being lit. Earlier, chants in honour of dead in recent fire in Urumqi,and “Shanghai police let them go”- reference to arrests today

Urumqi citizens are singing the national anthem in front of the police which is their way to express anger and frustration. For many ppl in Xinjiang, it’s gonna be a sleepless night.

The March of the Volunteers, before it became the national anthem, was written specifically for mass singing in the streets by crowds.

Protests are rare in China because there is no coordination mechanism. In other societies religion, NGOs, and technology serve that coordinating function. One folly of COVIDZero is that it supplies a coordination mechanism across regions and socioeconomic classes. Irony is rich.

Speeches of Xi’s dad saying that officials have to listen to the voice of the people going viral in response to the Urumqi fire

Viral WeChat video of fans celebrating at the World Cup behind audio of someone screaming at people to put on their masks