Shanghai - (AFP) - Demonstrations have been taking place in the Chinese city of Shanghai since dawn Sunday, according to eyewitnesses, in protest against the strict closure measures applied by the authorities within the framework of the "zero Covid" policy in the country for nearly three years.

In a video recording widely circulated on the Internet, demonstrators appear in a place identified by AFP as geographically located on Wulumukhi Street in central Shanghai, chanting slogans calling for President Xi Jinping to "resign" and attacking the Chinese Communist Party, in a rare expression of hostility to the president and the regime in China. The economic capital of the country.

In another video clip transmitted by an eyewitness to France Press, people appear as they gather in central Shanghai to honor ten people who were killed in a fire in Urumqi in Xinjiang (western China).

Internet pioneers are circulating posts on social networks in China confirming that anti-Covid measures have exacerbated the tragedy because they have slowed down the arrival of help.

Other posts on social media reported that vigils were held to commemorate the Urumqi victims at a number of universities across the country.

A person who participated in one of the protest rallies in Shanghai told AFP, on condition of anonymity, that he had arrived at the gathering at about two o'clock in the morning.

This witness said that "a group of sad people put flowers on the pavement while another group was chanting."

He added that "some limited clashes occurred, but in general the police acted civilly," explaining that "the police took two people for unknown reasons."

The police did not hesitate to impose restrictions on online discussions about the demonstration. It blocked the "Urumqi Road" hashtag on Weibo, China's Twitter-like platform, shortly after photos of the gatherings were posted.

The strict policy to combat the COVID-19 epidemic is causing increasing dissatisfaction in China. Sporadic demonstrations, some of them violent, have taken place in a number of cities in recent days, including at the world's largest iPhone factory located in downtown Zhengzhou and owned by Taiwanese giant Foxconn.

Despite the many vaccines available, and unlike other countries in the world, China still imposes isolation measures as soon as infections appear, including quarantine for those who prove infected with the disease in centers, and almost daily “BCR” tests to enter public places.