hi, I’m Chinese living in Ireland. Please forgive my grammar. Really sorry to bother you.

You might not know, in the last few days, there have been massive protests across the country happened. Some of them are protesting the Zero Covid policy, some even shouting “CCP step down. Xi Jinping step down!” Protests have broken out in so many cities. People are so brave…

I always dislike my country because of the political environment, I lose all hope there. For a long period of time, I suffer from political depression. For people living in democratic countries, it might be hard for them to imagine a country where all roads have numerous CCTV, people can not say a bad word about the government, LGBTQ is taboo, you cannot trust people around you, whenever saying something “sensitive”, for example, “stand with HongKong/Ukraine”, you might be reported by others and facing jail time. i know i won’t have a future in my home country because i don’t know how can i survive in depression. Many of my friends like me said goodbye to family and escaped.

However, never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that so many protests would break out across China in the past two days, with people gathering to chant. the last time things like this happened in China was in 1989. I literally cried so many times yesterday. Today is the first time in my life I don’t feel alone. their protest might be a failure, but we should always have hope and faith.

Cheers everyone! I hope you have a good day.

​

Edit: for the protest reason:

Ten people have died in a fire in flats in the city of Urumqi, the capital of the western Xinjiang region because they are not allowed to leave their houses, and some of the building gates may be locked. [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-63752407](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-63752407)

38 comments

  1. Do you think there is any chance the government will give in and backtrack on its zero Covid policy? It just makes no sense and was always going to lead to unrest eventually.

  2. Watching it. Seem very widespread as well. Bravery like in Iran. Seen the videos where the ccp have blocked out the fans at the world cup. I’d say that wasn’t appreciated, if you’re in continuous lock downs.

    Edit. Hope it works out for them and you.

  4. Thanks for sharing, it’s very interesting to hear about. I hope things improve and that the future is bright for China and for people like yourself.

  5. As someone who has done 8 trips to your wonderful country (2002-2018), I wish you and your people the best. I’ve never felt safer in a foreign country, and your history amazes me. Although I’m sure I was being watched more than I knew about. Early trips to Xiamen and Fuzhou in 2002 are my best memories. I’ll never understand the Covid strategy that China has taken, when they could have vaccinated everyone and just got on with life, as we did. Best of luck, and hope you find a stable home here in Ireland.

  7. Great post, thank you for sharing some real insight from your country. Hope you’re happy in Ireland, and hope something positive comes from these protests

  9. There is a 80,000 person COVID quarantine center currently being built in China. It isn’t particularly far from Hong Kong either. Many people fear that the Chinese government has some very nefarious reasons for building the center and that COVID quarantine is merely a cover.

  10. What i find hard to understand and you might help enlighten us OP, is how people stand not living in a democracy? Do most just accept this as normal? Do they look to democracies and think they are incorrect and that totalitarian regimes are the best way to organise a society or is it something the general public just done consider? Thanks for the post 🙏

  12. I’d love to know what the CCP are brainwashing the population with to convince them that staying in near permanent lockdown is the right approach. Like surely Chinese people have seen/heard/read how the west/rest of the world have moved on from Covid and must be wondering why they are still in the mire? The CCP must be convincing them that the “evil west” doesn’t care about their people’s welfare and have opened up too early or some other rubbish? Would also be interested to know how the spun the fact that their vaccine is shit and ineffective, yet western vaccines are one of the main reasons we were able to get out of the lockdowns in the first place.

  13. Continuing a zero COVID approach at this point is senseless and I think Xi is only doing it now to show that he can. It’s a power trip. Sorry to be a pessimist here but I don’t think these protests will disturb the CCP. Things would have to get very bad economically before the CCP concede power. Maybe the housing market crash will help? I do wish that the Chinese people had the same security and freedom as we do in the west.

  15. The CCP can easily see this post. I haven’t looked at your post history, but I hope you cannot be identified by them. Make sure you are using a vpn. Good luck friend

  16. We can’t provide mich support from here sadly… It really looks like China is getting another Tiananmen moment, I have no idea how things could get better without first getting much worse 🙁

  17. Is there anything that can be done to spread the word on what’s going on/support people there?

    Thanks for your insight, it’s so much more valuable to hear directly from someone that knows what’s going on.

  18. No need to apologise for your grammar, you write better English than a lot of native speakers. Massive respect to everyone brave enough to protest, not just in China but also in places like Iran and Russia, hope the winds of change blow soon

  20. China is in an impossible situation regarding Covid. Their homegrown vaccines have proven pretty weak against all the variants since Delta, so if it opens up there’s going to be a lot of deaths.

    At the same time people and the economy cannot withstand lockdowns this strict for so long.

    China needs more tools in its tool bag… Better vaccines, better antivirals, higher quality masks etc.

    But it’s clear that these protests are about even more than just the lockdowns. It seems many are daring to denounce the government in public.

  23. Hi. I’m Irish citizen living in Beijing. I tested positive on Friday. They left me in my apartment for two days with the building locked down but then they said I have to go to the hospital because the building is old and some thing about the vents. They picked me up yesterday and said they will take me to a hospital facility for treatment. They brought me to I guess a pop up transit unit. They said I would be here 3 hours. It’s been nearly a 24 hrs. I’m in a dirty little room with no sink and no one has tested me since Friday. No meds and all they will say is i must wait till they can find me a spot in a hospital. But they can’t tell me how long.

  25. It’s genuinely frightening and something I can’t comprehend. I had a lot of Taiwanese friends at university and even me saying “they’re not Chinese” would cause a serious stir from our mainland Chinese friends, so we just didnt speak about it when we were all together.

  26. Wish good luck for your people, OP. Wanted to say that I know how you feel, because it gives me 2013-2014 Revolution of Dignity vibes… but I probably don’t. CCP violates human rights on a whole different level. I can only imagine what does it mean to deal with stupid shit like secret police working abroad. It shouldn’t be a thing. It is not normal.

  27. I’d be interested to know in your opinion what are the prospects for meaningful change in China? From the outside looking in, the regime seems very strong.

  32. I lived with a great Chinese housemate for 2 years and he would get distinctly nervous if politics of any type was raised. I think you are the first Chinese person I’ve ever heard actually express a political opinion.

  33. i’m sorry you are feeling depression, and i genuinely hope you feel better. i hope everything works out for your friends, family and countrymen.

    its true that I cant really understand what you feel, but I can empathize, with you well, and everything works out.

    its great to hear other voices so you are always welcome to speak your mind here.

  37. Mind yourself, man. China is known to be monitoring ex-pats so be careful what you write online if there is any possibility it could be tied back to your real identity.

  38. Thank you for sharing this. It must be hard being in a country so far from your homeland, and seeing your native people, including your family and friends, suffering through such hardship. Ireland is not perfect by any means, but I hope that you feel safe here.

    I am glad for you that you’re seeing a change in the attitude towards the government, and for the solidarity that you feel from it. I’m sure it gives you an immense sense of pride too. I hope that your loved ones back home are safe and that they can witness a change for the better sooner rather than later. Best of luck 🍀

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