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Xi Jinping has been hit by “extraordinary” civil unrest in China driven by “fear, fatigue and anger” over his zero Covid policy and lockdown restrictions.

Protesters are demanding the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in Beijing and Shanghai. People also took to the streets in the northwestern Xinjiang region after deaths in an apartment fire were blamed on lockdowns.

Growing frustration with Beijing’s strict zero-Covid policy sparks a wave of protests, with blank pieces of white A4 paper becoming a symbol of the movement

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Residents in some major Chinese cities took to the streets at the weekend to protest strict zero COVID-19 restrictions, some calling for President Xi Jinping to step down in scenes unprecedented since Xi assumed power a decade ago.

People have gathered in at least eight Chinese cities in a sign of the growing anger at Beijing’s zero-COVID strategy.

Shares have skidded in Asia, with Hong Kong dipping as much as 4% following weekend protests in various cities over China's strict zero-COVID lockdowns

The show of civil disobedience among Chinese citizens, which appears to be gaining momentum, is being labelled as "extraordinary".

Police on Monday stopped and searched people at the sites of weekend protests in Shanghai and Beijing, after crowds there and in other Chinese cities demonstrated against stringent COVID-19 measures disrupting lives three years into the pandemic.

The latest demonstrations are unprecedented in mainland China since President Xi Jinping took power a decade ago.

SHANGHAI: Hundreds of people took to the streets in China's major cities on Sunday to protest against the country's zero-Covid policy, in a rare outpouring of public anger against the state.