Chinese protesters have come up with a new slogan. As discontent over Beijing’s “covid zero” policy grows, a viral video filmed in Shanghai shows a crowd chanting the rallying cry “I want to go see a movie!”, entertainment undermined by draconian measures in China to stop pollution.
According to hollywood reporter, which reports the information, the video was broadcast massively over the weekend on the Chinese WeChat messaging service, both by moviegoers and professionals in the sector. The American media specifies that most cinemas are still open in China but that the increase in contamination figures in certain large cities, added to the cost of PCR tests that are requested at the entrance of public places, compromises the accessibility of the rooms. And the Chinese box office is feeling it: admission numbers are down 36% compared to last year and more than 50% compared to 2019.
growing discontent
Protest movements are rare in China, where censorship reigns. However, a growing part of the Chinese population is crying out that they are fed up with the “zero covid” policy imposed by their government – and its limitations – to the point sometimes of breaking a taboo and daring to demand the departure of Xi Jinping. , the president of the country.
To circumvent and denounce censorship, protesters now use a white sheet of paper as a symbol of mobilization. Particularly mobilised, students from universities located in Beijing and Nanking brandished white sheets of paper in protest during silent demonstrations.
They are all protesting against the excessive confinements imposed in recent weeks by the government. Because despite several available vaccines, and unlike the rest of the world, the country continues to impose lockdowns as soon as the first cases appear and quarantine people who test positive.
AFP has verified in recent days that the anger of the Chinese has even contaminated the treatment of the World Cup in Qatar by local television. Thus, during the broadcasts of the matches, the images of the crowd of fans without masks and without social distancing are no longer shown on the screen.
Source: BFM TV
