Two demonstrations were held in Paris on Saturday, protesting against the policies of the Chinese government, and gathering hundreds of Chinese and French people of Chinese origin, as well as their sympathisers.
The first protest was held in the Place de la Nation, in the 12th arrondissement, and was organised to denounce the treat of the Uyghur Muslim minority in the region of Xinjiang. Meanwhile, in the Place du Trocadero in the 16th, a rally was organised to challenge the “zero Covid” policy which has been in place since the start of the pandemic.
In Place de la Nation, protesters waved Uyghur flags and held signs saying “free the Uyghurs”. However, when journalists approached them to ask questions, many stated that they were afraid to speak due to a “fear of being found by the regime”. Gani, a young man who left his hometown of Ghulja, Xinjiang in 2016 in order to move to France, did agree to talk to Le Figaro, stating that he hasn’t spoken to his brother for four years after he was taken to a camp by Chinese authorities, ostensibly to be “educated”. He adds that he feels “powerless” in the face of the repression in his homeland.
Meanwhile, in the Place du Trocadero, young Chinese expatriates were among the crowd protesting the ‘zero Covid’ policy which has forced China into a pattern of lockdowns long after many European countries ceased to need them. Some held sheets of white paper, a symbol used in China by demonstrators seeking to denounce censorship. Chants of “Xi Jinping resignation” were heard as protesters mocked the Chinese leader.
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