Blank sheets of paper, math equations and even alpacas: Protesters in China have found creative ways to express anger at the government’s zero-Covid measures, sparking a wave of dissent against long and severe lockdowns, the death of factory workers in Urumqi and the censorship they are not allowed to talk about.
The extraordinary protests, which began over the weekend and spread to Chinese cities including Shanghai and Beijing, have been characterized by acts of civil disobedience, including clashes with police.
The symbol most used in the demonstrations has been a blank sheet of paper. It symbolizes censorship, and also, some Twitter users pointed out, can be read as a reference to the death of ten people last week in a building fire in Urumqi, Xinjiang, which was attributed to the lockdown restrictions that protesters believe they prevented residents from escaping. in time In China, white is a color used in funerals.
Others have dared to put text and symbols on their sheets. A group of protesters printed the Friedman equation, which governs the expansion of the universe: the name of the equations sounds like the words “free man”.
Students at the elite school of Tsinghua University protested with the Friedmann equation. I have no idea what this equation means, but it doesn’t matter. It’s the pronunciation: it’s similar to “free的man” (free man): a spectacular and creative way of expressing, with intelligence. pic.twitter.com/m5zomeTRPF
— Nathan Law 罗冠钟 (@nathanlawkc) November 27, 2022
Another protester displayed an exclamation mark on a red background – the sign used on WeChat when a message cannot be delivered.
A woman walked three alpacas along the road in Urumqi, which has been interpreted as a reference to one of the first protest memes invented to evade and mock internet censors: the Grass Mud Horse or Cao Ni Ma, an alpaca-like creature whose Chinese name is a homonym for the insult “voice your mother’s shit.”
In 2009, when Internet censorship in China became stricter, Baidu users posted images of alpacas, or “grass mud horses,” as a way to express their frustration.
“The grass mud horse lives!” Jeremy Goldkorn, editor-in-chief of the China Project, posted on Twitter.
Others have been brave enough to sing veiled messages of dissent. In Beijing, protesters called for “more lockdowns” and “I want to test for Covid”.
When the police ask the protesters not to shout “no more blockades”, so instead they chant this:
“MORE BLOCKS!” “I WANT TO BE TESTED FOR COVID!”
people Let me remind you that this valiant effort also encapsulates the ultimate Chinese wisdom: armed passive aggression. pic.twitter.com/PlzK2PCiMW
— Tony Lin 林东尼 (@tony_zy) November 27, 2022
In Zhejiang, a young woman walked down the street holding a white paper, her mouth covered with black tape and her hands tied with chains.