At Jiang Zemin’s memorial service, China’s Xi Jinping calls for unity

“The entire party, the entire army, and the people of all ethnic groups in the country must unite more closely around the party’s central leadership” to achieve great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, he said.

As people observed three minutes of quiet, sirens sounded around the nation. The official period of silence saw a halt to trading in the stock, currency, and bond markets, and Tuesday saw a ban on public entertainment, including certain well-liked online games.

Young protesters demanded an end to Covid lockdowns and Xi’s restrictive measures, from ever-tighter censorship to all-encompassing ideological controls. It was a stark contrast to the recent raucous protest scenes.

The boldest political defiance came from Shanghai, where crowds openly called for Xi to “step down” for two consecutive nights. The site of the Shanghai protests is just a stone’s throw from the Huadong Hospital, where Jiang died.

Observers had cautioned that Jiang’s death could rekindle protests given China’s history of people taking to the streets to mourn the deaths of previous leaders while airing their grievances against ruling governments.

But as China’s security forces had already acted quickly to put an end to public protests in key cities with a significant police presence as well as a surveillance and intimidation campaign, his killing didn’t provoke a clear outpouring of rage.

After the nation’s senior health official proclaimed that the nation’s pandemic controls had reached a “new stage and mission,” local authorities likewise began loosening some Covid limits.

As of Monday, the criteria for negative Covid testing on public transportation have been eliminated in more than 20 cities, including Beijing and Shanghai.

Beijing further reduced regulations on Tuesday, removing the need for tests to enter offices, malls, housing developments, and airports. However, the requirement still applies to restaurants, gyms, and indoor entertainment facilities.

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