Angry residents in Tibet’s Lhasa capital protest against Beijing’s zero-Covid policy

Large-scale protests reportedly erupted in Tibet’s capital Lhasa against China’s draconian zero-Covid policy, which has been in place for more than three months.

According to reports, the agitation broke out on Wednesday afternoon, with hundreds of people gathering on the streets, and stretched till the next day.

Several videos have appeared on social media, showing people marching on the streets. Since these clips were in mandarin, it was difficult to decipher what they were saying.

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Another video showed officials blocking hundreds of people who have assembled on the streets, with an official on the loudspeaker asking them to "please be understanding and to go back", according to BBC.

Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported citing sources that the protesters warned Chinese officials that if the Covid lockdown measures aren’t lifted, they would "set off a fire".

Though it is unclear what they mean by that, RFA claimed that they were alluding to the 2009 incident in which people immolated themselves while protesting against the repressive Chinese occupation.

Taken aback by the sporadic protest, the officials have deployed additional forces across Tibet over fears that the tussle between civilians and police officers could turn violent.

The Covid lockdown began in early August in Lhasa after number of cases started to climb.

However, Lhasa residents have been complaining that the sudden lockdown didn’t leave them enough to time to prepare, leaving some residents short on essential items.

The BBC, which claimed to have seen multiple posts on Douyin—China's TikTok version—reported that people in the clips complained that they were trapped in Lhasa.

"Today is the 77th day of the lockdown in Lhasa. I don't know how long it will continue to be like this. I [cant find] hope. Can you understand... how hard it is for migrant workers?" the post said.

"We haven't had any income for three months - but expenses have not been reduced even by a penny. My friends in Lhasa - how long can you go on like this?" said another post.

(With inputs from agencies)

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