[횡설수설/장택동]Chinese white paper protests on fire

On July 6, 2020, citizens gathered at IFC Mall in central Hong Kong silently taking a white paper. They didn’t say anything, but those watching knew what it meant. As Hong Kong’s National Security Act came into force on the 1st of the same month, people were punished for holding a picket with anti-China slogans written on it. Hong Kong citizens who were completely deprived of their freedom of expression chose empty protests as a last resort. Now, two years later, empty protests are taking place across China against the “zero corona” policy.

▷ On the 24th, 10 people lost their lives in a fire in Xinjiang Uyghur. Rumors spread that the apartment was blocked due to quarantine, so the evolution was postponed. The Chinese, who had accumulated fatigue from the zero corona that had lasted for almost three years, were very upset. In the Uyghur settlement of Shanghai, thousands of people protested against the lockdown policy from the night of the 26th. As rallies are held simultaneously in Beijing, the capital, Wuhan, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Nanjing, all of China is inundated.

▷ Public security fired tear gas at the protesters and beat them indiscriminately. In protest against this, empty protests, which began to focus on universities, have spread throughout the country, and residents are joining one after another. This is because it “shows the reality of not being able to write anything on a blank sheet of paper that can write anything.” Hashtags like #Blank Revolution and #A4 Revolution are also spreading on social media. It includes the hope that it will lead to democratizing protests such as the Velvet Revolution in the Czech Republic and the Georgia Rose Revolution. On Twitter, a message was posted asking “Qatar World Cup fans to keep a blank piece of paper to support the protests.”

▷ In fact, this demonstration is expanding into an anti-government demonstration. In some areas, certain slogans such as “Xi Jinping must step down” and “I want a vote” became popular. Due to the impact of the zero corona policy, China’s economic growth rate this year is expected to remain in the 3% range, which is much lower than the target of 5.5%. Nevertheless, the number of new corona infections in China has reached a record high for five consecutive days. It is a crisis situation where the economy and quarantine are failing.

▷ President Xi, starting his third term last month, presented the “great revival of the Chinese nation” as the justification. However, as social control was strengthened to concentrate power, the lives of the inhabitants became more difficult. He is now suffering from the after effects. The key is how the authorities will deal with protests in the future. Wang Dan, a leading figure in the 1989 Tiananmen protests, said, “If the protests are stopped or ignited, something will change the world.” If the Chinese leadership ignores public sentiment and insists on taking a hard line, the unfortunate history may repeat itself.

Editorial Writer Jang Taek-dong will71@donga.com

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