Hundreds of people gathered on Tuesday Harvard Near University and Chinese Consulate New York And chicago to support protesters calling for that country’s leader to step down amid anti-virus restrictions in the biggest demonstrations against the government in Beijing in decades.
About 50 protesters, mostly students from the elite Ivy League school, sang songs in both Chinese and English and chanted slogans in both languages, including, “We are not slaves, we are citizens!” “We don’t want dictatorship, we want elections!” and “Step Down, Xi Jinping,” a reference to ChinaPresident of
Many who gathered at the university’s namesake John Harvard statue wore masks — not because of COVID-19, but because they were concerned that if they were recognized by Chinese authorities, their people back home The families will have to face the consequences.
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Relatives could face harassment or even lose jobs, said Wen, a Harvard graduate student from China who attended the demonstration, who did not want his full name to be known out of concern for relatives back home.
In New York, about 400 people gathered across the street from the consulate, holding signs saying “Civil Dignity Freedom” and “Free China”.
About 200 protesters gathered in front of the Chinese consulate in Chicago. Some people said: “We don’t want a PCR test, we want to eat!” and “We don’t want dictators, we want votes!”
Protesters brought flowers, lit candles and covered their faces with signs, masks and blank sheets of paper, which Chinese protesters used as symbols of defiance of government censorship.
“I came because I want to do everything I can to help my people,” said a 21-year-old man wearing a hazmat suit, a reference to the suits worn by people administering mandatory COVID-19 tests in China.
She asked to be identified only as a performance artist because her parents are members of the Chinese Communist Party and she worried they could face arrest if they were identified.
“They would be very concerned” if they knew she was protesting, she said.
The Chinese authorities’ restrictive “zero-covid” strategy has led to demonstrations in at least eight mainland cities and Hong Kong. They have been called the most widespread protests since the 1989 student-led Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement.
Some Chinese universities have sent students home and police were deployed in Beijing and Shanghai to prevent more protests on Tuesday. Security forces detained an unknown number of people and increased surveillance.
A protest was also held at Columbia University on Monday, and demonstrations in support of the Chinese people have either been organized or planned at other US universities in the coming days.
Harvard protesters also laid flowers at the base of the statue — a famous spot in Harvard Yard that is usually surrounded by tourists — to honor the 10 people who died in a fire in northwest China last week, some of which have called for strict anti-government protests. -Virus controls blamed. ,
Brahiba Wang, a former Harvard student who is now studying neuroscience at the nearby Massachusetts Institute of Technology, unmasked and played her violin to accompany the singing.
“It’s great to see people fighting for their freedom and fighting for their freedom of expression,” said Wang, who is originally from Taiwan.
He called the protesters in China “courageous” for standing up against the government.
© 2022 The Canadian Press