What triggered the protests in China and what tactics have been used?
People in China have been protesting over ongoing coronavirus measures as part of growing calls for freedom – and there have been unprecedented clashes with police.
Some observers view the demonstrations as the most significant and serious in China since the 1989 crackdown on student pro-democracy rallies in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
The size and spread of the protests in China is unusual with the days ahead remaining uncertain – and questions remain about how the authorities will deal with them if they continue to grow.
What has been happening in China?
Residents in some major cities have been taking to the streets in protest over the country’s restrictive coronavirus measures.
People have clashed with police and some have called for Xi Jinping to step down as president.
In Shanghai, police took away a busload of protesters and there were violent clashes in other places such as Wuhan.
The numbers of protesters have varied considerably across different cities, with as many as 1,000 gathering in some parts.
Small-scale vigils and protests have also been held in other parts of the world to show solidarity with the people in China – including in London, Paris, Tokyo and Sydney.
What triggered the protests?
Frustrations have been building for some time over the state’s zero-COVID policy, which has been imposed to tackle any outbreaks and has led to long spells of confinement at home for many millions of people.
Some counties have faced sudden lockdowns over a small number of infections, while in other cases individual shops have been closed after a reported infection.
Last week, a fire in Urumqi in the Xinjiang region killed 10 people who became trapped in their apartments in a building that had been in lockdown for around 100 days.
The disaster was partly blamed on people being prevented from escaping by lockdown measures – while city officials provoked more anger by appearing to blame the residents for the deaths.
It was the latest in a growing list of incidents.
Read more:
Communist Party faces threat not seen in decades
‘Ordinary, angry people’ – Sky correspondent witnesses protests in Shanghai
In September, 27 people died in a bus crash while being taken to a quarantine centre in Guizhou, far exceeding the two reported COVID-related deaths in the province since the beginning of the pandemic.
Since President Xi assumed power a decade ago, authorities have tightened controls on civil society, the media and the internet.
The strict COVID measures have kept China’s death toll much lower than many other countries, but they have also damaged the world’s second-biggest economy.
Chinese officials say the measures must be maintained to save lives, especially among the elderly given their lower vaccination rates.
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BBC journalist arrested in Shanghai
How many COVID infections are there in China?
There was a fifth straight daily record of 40,347 new infections on 27 November, of which 3,822 were symptomatic and 36,525 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Monday.
That compares with 39,791 new cases a day earlier – 3,709 symptomatic and 36,082 asymptomatic infections, which China counts separately.
There were no deaths, compared with one the previous day, keeping fatalities at 5,233.
As of Sunday, the mainland has confirmed 311,624 cases with symptoms.
What other tactics are protesters using?
People on the streets, at universities and on social media have expressed their anger using blank paper, which is becoming a symbol of the movement.
Students at universities in cities including Nanjing and Beijing held up blank paper as part of a silent protest – a tactic mostly used to evade censorship or arrest.
In Shanghai, there were reports of crowds holding a candlelight vigil for the Urumqi victims while parading blank paper.
“The white paper represent everything we want to say but cannot say,” said Johnny, 26, who took part in a gathering in Beijing.
“I came here to pay respects to the victims of the fire – I really hope we can see an end to all of these COVID measures.
“We want to live a normal life again. We want to have dignity.”
Residents gather in the street in Wuhan as nationwide anger mounts
What have other people been saying about the protests?
Summer Kay, 24, who works in the internet industry in Beijing, said: “The pandemic and the codes have brought us so much torture.
“And now there are more people becoming unemployed, and it’s becoming an ordeal for kids and the elderly to get medical attention.
“If we just remain silent, I think it will only get worse.
“Maybe tomorrow the police will find us based on the records, maybe some of us will be arrested on strange charges and disappear.”
Kay Huang, 28, was at a candlelight vigil in Beijing on Sunday and said: “I’m really touched especially when they’re singing and everything they say – we want rights, freedom and don’t give up. That’s powerful. That’s warm.
“I want to see Beijing going back to normal as a capital city. I want people to see people safe, and free and happy again, not to have so many negative thoughts.”
World
Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.
“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.
On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
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