<div style="text-align: justify; "><b><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Protests against Covid restrictions in China appear to have intensified following a fire which killed 10 people in an apartment block in Urumqi.</span><br></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the city of Shanghai, videos posted on social media by foreign journalists show thousands of people taking to the streets to remember the victims and to protest against Covid restrictions.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hundreds were heard asking for President Xi Jinping to resign.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Many people have blamed the lockdown of residential buildings for the fire.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Chinese authorities have denied it was the cause. Though Urumqi authorities did issue an unusual apology late on Friday - vowing to punish anyone who had deserted their duty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At the gathering in Shanghai, some people were seen lighting candles and laying flowers for the victims.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Others were heard shouting slogans such as "Xi Jinping, step down" and "Communist party, step down". Some also held blank white banners.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Such demands are an unusual sight within China, where any direct criticism of the government and the president can result in harsh penalties.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some protesters also shouted abuse at police, who lined the streets where people had gathered.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One protester told the Associated Press news agency one of his friends had been beaten by police at the scene, while two others had been pepper sprayed. Videos of other parts of the protest showed police standing watch as people protested.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Though the situation in the area had calmed by Sunday morning, the BBC saw a heightened police presence in the area of the protest, with several dozen police officers, private security guards and plain-clothed police officers on the streets.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Elsewhere, in several Chinese universities, photos and videos emerged online of students protesting on Saturday night. The largest gathering seemed to be at Nanjing Communications University.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Videos of the protests are difficult to independently verify, but many of them show an unusually explicit and outspoken criticism of the government and its leader.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Urumqi fire was a nightmare scenario for many Chinese who have come under widespread restrictions in recent months - locked in one's apartment with no way to escape, according to some accounts. Authorities have disputed this, but it has not stopped public outrage and anxiety from spreading.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It has become the latest tipping point in mounting frustration. Millions are weary of three years of movement restrictions and daily Covid tests. The anger has spread to all corners of China, from major cities to far flung regions like Xinjiang and Tibet, and galvanised every part of society including young university students, factory workers, and ordinary citizens.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As this anger grows, protests against Covid measures have become an increasingly common sight. But even this weekend's demonstrations are unusual in this new normal, both in their numbers and directness of their criticism of the government and President Xi Jinping.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Taking to the streets en masse with hundreds calling for President Xi to step down was thought to be unthinkable not so long ago. But after a recent dramatic protest on a Beijing bridge that stunned many, a bar appears to have been set for the expression of more open and sharper dissent.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Others have also chosen to wave the Chinese flag and sing the national anthem - its lyrics espousing revolutionary ideals and urging the people to "rise up, rise up". It's a show of patriotism that could also be read as a pointed expression of solidarity with fellow Chinese suffering under Mr Xi's zero-Covid policy - and a call to action.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The protests are the latest in an accelerating series of mass demonstrations against China's zero-Covid measures which have also become increasingly bolder in criticism of the government and President Xi.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The zero-Covid strategy is the last policy of its kind among the world's major economies, and is partly due to China's relatively low vaccination levels and an effort to protect elderly people.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Snap lockdowns have caused anger across the country - and Covid restrictions more broadly have trigged recent violent protests from Zhengzhou to Guangzhou.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In spite of the stringent measures, China's case numbers this week hit all-time records since the pandemic began. BBC</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>