Restrictions imposed Beijing in transport, as it pursues the – in any case unattainable for many – goal of completely eliminating or “wiping out” cases of coronavirus in the context of a “zero Covid” policy, have driven many citizens to their breaking point.

Three years after the explosion pandemicand while incidents inside China’s borders have been on the rise lately, Beijing is pushing for a series of tough restrictions that, judging by the results, have only succeeded in “destroying” the patience of some citizens.

Reactions inside

Already last weekend, rallies and demonstrations of protest took place on the streets of large Chinese cities, as well as on the territory of Chinese universities. Last Saturday, protesters in Shanghaiwaving white sheets of paper in protest, demanded something in a sense “unthinkable” for Chinese data, as the editors of Gzero note in their article: the resignation of the same Xi Jinping from the leadership of the country. Similar scenes unfolded from Beijing up to Nanking.

Such mass protests are extremely rare in China. Even more rare is the public manifestation of a reaction against oneself. Xi Jinpinga leader who only recently received a new, third in a row and, therefore, a historic term in power.

However, the “zero covid” restrictions imposed by the authorities de facto negatively affect both the daily lives of many citizens and economic activity, and recently these restrictions have also been “tied” to human losses from the fire that broke out in a residential complex in the city Urumqiprovincial capital xinjiang in the northwest of the country, killing ten people. According to relevant complaints, some of those affected ended up dying due to not leaving their homes due to restrictions and quarantines, although this scenario is denied by the authorities.

But apart from the tragedy in question, the sudden lockdowns have sparked conflict between residents and officials in many Chinese cities for months on end, the editors of the Gzero website report in their article.

In a country like China where vaccination rate is low, domestic vaccines are ineffective and the elderly are numerousthe authorities have practical reasons to insist on “zero Covid” restrictions.

However, as a result, these restrictions no longer work as Covid cases return to record levels within China’s borders.

Today, however, authorities in some Chinese cities have responded by relaxing (slightly) some of these restrictions. However, security measures were stepped up in Beijing and Shanghai, while China’s state media informed citizens that zero tolerance for Covid would continue.

Messages from Taiwan

However, this past weekend we had other events of interest to China, not in mainland China itself, but on a neighboring self-governing island. Taiwan declared “Chinese” by Beijing. Last Saturday, millions of Taiwanese went to the polls to elect mayors and city councils.

Although Saturday’s elections in the self-governing island of Taiwan are municipal elections, they are expected to serve as a barometer showing trends and attitudes towards Beijing, we wrote a few days ago in K.

Now, judging by the results of this election, Beijing should be modestly pleased. Considered the most “pro-Chinese” of Taiwan’s major political forces, the Kuomintang (KMT) has done very well, scoring a string of victories against the formidable rival of the ruling “anti-Chinese” DPP, from which Tsai Ing originates. Wen, President of the Autonomous Region. The defeat was so hard for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) that Tsai Ing-wen announced her resignation as party leader, while the next presidential election is expected to take place in Taiwan in 2024.

Beijing, for its part, might welcome the results of this election as a positive development, but now the Chinese leadership has other “internal headaches” that worry it.