Urumqi Fire
On Thursday 24th November 2022, ten people died in a fire that broke out in an apartment block in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang region, with Uyghur families the primary victims of the fire. One man lost five relatives.
The BBC was told by one resident in the aftermath of the incident that people living in the fire-hit compound had been largely prevented from leaving their homes. Several accounts indicate that Covid-19 protocols prevented emergency services from reaching those trapped in the fire.
In the aftermath, protests erupted first in Urumqi. Related protests online and in the streets about the fire and the impact of China’s stringent zero-Covid policies then gained momentum — in Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, and Wuhan, among others.
The protests — which began Friday 25th November 2022 and spread to cities including the capital, Beijing, and dozens of university campuses — are the most widespread show of opposition to the ruling party in decades. In some cases, protestors have even explicitly urged Xi Jinping, China’s leader, to step down over the Covid-19 protocols he’s attempted to make a signature policy position.
Key Reading:
Uyghurs marked the one-year anniversary of a deadly fire in Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi with vigils, demanding accountability for the tragedy that they say killed four times higher than the official death toll of 10.
Kamile Wayit is serving jail time in Xinjiang for "advocating extremism", after she was detained for posting a video about protests relating to coronavirus restrictions in China.
Global Voices conducted an interview with Gene Bunin to learn about his work on the Xinjiang Victims Database, the context of oppression in China, and more.
A Uyghur man working in the United States has called on Chinese authorities in Xinjiang to release his sister, who was detained after posting video about the recent 'white paper' protests across China.
While some 50 countries in 2022 have made gestures toward demanding accountability for China's treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, many countries still remain silent.
This event brings key thinkers and commentators from the Uyghur and Chinese diasporas to discuss the recent spate of protests across China and the potential for solidarity between these communities.
The victims who died a recent apartment block fire in Urumqi – which triggered protests across China against harsh anti-virus restrictions – were all Uyghurs, officials confirmed to Radio Free Asia.
When a deadly fire broke out in China's northwest Xinjiang region, triggering a wave of public anger over the country's zero-Covid policy, it claimed the lives of five of one man’s relatives.
Following the deaths of ten people in a fire in Urumqi, an ever-growing list of words that reference the subsequent protests are being censored and attempts are being made to deflect the narrative on both various platforms.
In cities across China, people are protesting Xi Jinping’s Covid policy — and even demanding his resignation.
Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China’s powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations.
Protests against China’s pervasive anti-virus controls that have confined millions of people to their homes spread to other cities after complaints they might have worsened the death toll in an apartment fire in Xinjiang.
Authorities are told to 'strictly crack down on illegal and criminal acts' opposing the zero-COVID policy, Radio Free Asia reports.
A fire in an apartment building in China’s Xinjiang region killed 10 people and injured nine, authorities said Friday, amid stringent COVID-19 lockdowns keeping residents in their homes.
Videos shared on social media in China have appeared to show fresh protests against Covid restrictions, after an apartment block fire killed 10 people.
A fire in a residential high-rise in Urumqi, where many residents have been under lockdown, set off public anger and questions about China’s zero-Covid policy.
Ten people have died in a fire in flats in the city of Urumqi, capital of the western Xinjiang region. The city has been under strict Covid restrictions since early August.