Joe Biden 'monitoring' rare unrest in China as protesters demand freedom from Covid measures

Washington, US

White House on Monday (November 28) said that President Joe Biden is closely monitoring protests in China that erupted against the nation's zero-Covid measures. 

The comments from the US administration were made as several parts of China have been rocked by rare protests of people against the regime over tough Covid restrictions, including mass testing, lockdowns, etc. 

On Monday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters: "He's (Biden) monitoring this. We all are. So yes, the president is certainly staying mindful." 

ALSO READ | Several detained in Shanghai as anti-Covid lockdown protests rage in China 

Kirby would not describe the reaction of the US president to the demonstrators, as he said: "The president's not going to speak for protesters around the world. They're speaking for themselves." 

Kirby further added: "People should be allowed the right to assemble and to peacefully protest policies or laws or dictates that they take issue with. We're watching this closely, as you might expect we would." 

WATCH | Gravitas | Tiananmen Moment: Protestors across China call for Xi Jinping to step down 

Earlier in the day, US State Department suggested that America viewed the mass protests in China against Covid lockdown policies as excessive. 

A department spokesperson said: "We think it's going to be very difficult for the People's Republic of China to be able to contain this virus through their zero-Covid strategy." 

ALSO READ | China's 'rare outpouring' of anger: Protesters chant 'down with Xi', break Covid testing tents 

The rare outpouring of public frustration and anger escalated over the weekend as authorities in Shanghai reportedly detained some protesters. 

The protests in China, where the first known Covid case was reported in late 2019, flared up after the deadly apartment fire in the country's far west. 

On Thursday, a fire at a residential high-rise building in the city of Urumqi, reportedly led to the death of at least 10 people. Urumqi is the capital of the Xinjiang region. 

Recently, the Covid cases in China have increased suddenly. On November 27, China reported the fifth straight daily record of 40,347 new infections, the National Health Commission said on Monday. 

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