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Beijing government eliminated uncommon banners of political protest from an overpass withinside the Chinese capital, in keeping with pix circulated broadly on social media on Thursday, simply days earlier than the begin of a twice-in-a-decade Communist Party congress. The banners bore numerous slogans, consisting of a name for President Xi Jinping’s ouster and an give up to strict COVID-19 policies, in keeping with severa pix and movies circulated on Twitter, that is blocked in China. Smoke will be visible emanating from the roadway above in which the banners have been hung in Beijing’s northwestern Haidian district, in keeping with the pix. The incident comes at a totally touchy time withinside the Chinese capital, with government on excessive alert withinside the run-as much as the 20 th congress of the ruling Communist Party, in which Xi is anticipated to steady a 3rd management term. “We do not need COVID tests, we need to eat; we do not need lockdowns, we need to be free,” one in every of them read. China’s zero-COVID policy, which has brought about common lockdowns and brought about heavy monetary damage, has fuelled full-size frustration in Chinese cities. Beijing police did now no longer at once reply to a request for remark despatched to their legitimate WeChat account. Search phrases associated with the pix and subject matter yielded no consequences on China’s closely censored internet, despite the fact that more than one oblique references will be found. “There become a courageous individual in Beijing today,” one consumer wrote, including numerous thumbs up and roses of support.
Hu Xijin, the previous editor of China’s nationalistic Global Times tabloid and a high-profile commentator, tweeted on Thursday: “China is presently stable, mainly its capital Beijing… In Beijing there’s no public dissatisfaction because of epidemic manage as in a few different distant places in China.”
