The most powerful symbol of these protests has been a symbol that says literally nothing, and everything at the same time. You saw lots of images of Chinese protesters holding up pieces of paper. The first night, I think the police were just sort of stunned. They didn't know what to do, so they were just kind of standing there not doing anything. But then on the second night, they were out in force. Large numbers of police and personal protective equipment patrolling the streets with riot shields.
The protests in China might force the government to back down from its extreme Covid restrictions and ramp up its extreme surveillance programs. The Wall Street Journal’s Josh Chin explains.
This episode was produced by Amanda Lewellyn, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Paul Robert Mounsey, and edited by Sean Rameswaram who also hosted.
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