 Anti-Lockdown Demonstrations Rage Across China Mass anti-lockdown demonstrations continue across China, following the fires that started in Rumji, the capital of western Hinjiang region last week. The fires that killed 10 people in a high-rise building in Rumji on November 25 triggered large-scale protests in the region. The demonstrators believe that lockdown hampered the residents' escape from the building. A video shared on Chinese social media suggests that residents could not escape the building because it was partially locked down. However, the authorities have denied claims that the residents could not leave the building because of COVID-19 measures imposed in the area. The protests that were triggered by fire in Rumji were spilled over to other big cities across China over the weekend. And the lockdown. Rise up, those who refuse to be slaves, are some of the lion's protesters chanted during the demonstrations. The already mounting anger over the protracted COVID-19 lockdown, coupled with the anger over the fire, coalesced into what became the most extraordinary show of dissent against the government in the past three decades. The nationwide protests in China showcase Chinese people's frustration with their government's zero COVID regime amid the rising infection cases in the country. The protests also seem to have forced the government to relax its strict lockdown rules. On Monday, authorities in Beijing announced they would no longer set up barricades outside of the buildings where COVID-19 cases are discovered. While in the southern city of Guangzhou, most testings were suspended.