Why blank sheets are becoming symbol of dissent in China? Here’s everything you need to know

Students at Beijing's Tsinghua University, whose name is a homonym for "free man" in Chinese, hung posters featuring a mathematical formula developed by Russian physicist Alexander Friedmann.

For their part, protesters employed irony to convey their message and circumvent censorship on China's restricted internet, where positive posts predominate, and bad ones are removed. Their walls were covered with the Chinese symbols.

One of the most daring acts of resistance against the Chinese government in years began as anger over lockdown measures over three years into the pandemic. Protests around China this past weekend was reflected in the texts people sent each other, which were numerous.




Some protesters even used foul language to directly address the government, demanding that China's leader Xi Jinping step down. In a country where the authorities have little tolerance for overt dissent, the usage of blank white sheets of paper has become a popular form of subversive communication in cities like Shanghai and Beijing.

Thursday's fire in Xinjiang's remote western region claimed ten lives, but many locals suspected the number was greater due to Covid restrictions that had kept them inside their houses. At least a dozen cities saw the onset of protests due to this. Protesters in China draped themselves in white sheets, a colour associated with funerals, to show their respect for the dead and their apparent frustration with the government's handling of the epidemic.

FAQs:

1. How many lives were lost in the Thursday fire?
   Ten lives.
2. When was the first case of Covid found in China?
   January 3, 2021.