In order to protest the government and the anti-epidemic zero policy, the Chinese people expressed their dissatisfaction by holding up blank paper, matching the national anthem, and using complex word games.

(Reuters)

[Central News Agency] Holding up a blank sheet of paper, matching the national anthem, and using complex word games: Chinese protesters have devised countless creative ways to express their dissatisfaction with the government and the anti-epidemic zero policy.

Agence France-Presse reported that the Chinese used the following methods to evade censorship, express anger and support protests:

Please read on...

●Blank sign

Yesterday, in many cities, including Beijing, protesters held up blank A4 papers in a show of solidarity and an acknowledgment of the lack of freedom of expression in China.

Others posted white squares on their WeChat profiles.

Photos circulated online also showed students at China's top Tsinghua University holding placards with Friedmann equations, because the physicist's surname, Friedmann, is related to free man, or freedom. (free) similar.

After the authorities searched the Internet to block more obvious keywords and place names, nonsensical posts consisting of repeated words with "positive" meanings went viral on WeChat and Weibo, including words such as "right right right right right right" and "Okay, okay."

As of today, many earlier posts on social networking sites that were incomprehensible and mentioned "A4 paper" have been deleted, but similar posts continue to spread.

Social media users also turned to advanced wordplay to discuss the protests, using words like "banana peel" (sounds the same consonant as Chinese President Xi Jinping) and "shrimp moss" (sounds like "step down").

●sarcasm

Last weekend, some crowds openly demanded that Xi Jinping step down, chanting slogans such as "Reject the new crown test, support freedom".

Others were more cautious, staging seemingly silent protests, laying flowers and candles in honor of the victims of last week's fires in Xinjiang, which sparked the latest wave of popular anger.

In Beijing, last night a group of people by the Liangma River yelled “I’m going to take a new crown test!” and “I want to scan my health code!” prompting Weibo users to post similar sarcastic phrases.

Video clips of Xi, as well as quotes from President Xi, have been cited in support of the mass demonstrations, including a video in which he says: "Now that the Chinese people are organized, they cannot be messed with."

●Music, football

Groups in many parts of China sang the national anthem and the Internationale at rallies, pre-empting Beijing from accusing the protests of being unpatriotic or incited by foreign powers.

In a viral video that was quickly taken down by censors, students in a university dormitory sing the Cantonese song "Broad Sea and Sky" by the Hong Kong rock group Beyond.

Before the outbreak, the freedom anthem was used by pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.

Netizens also circulated memes of the ongoing World Cup in Qatar, using pictures of fans not wearing masks to mock China's strict zeroing policy.

In a widely circulated but since-deleted video, a social media user added the sound of people yelling "Put on a mask!" and a "Take a COVID-19 test" sound effect as World Cup spectators cheer.

●Bypass the firewall

International social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram are blocked by China's Great Firewall, commonly known as the "Great Wall of the Internet," but tech-savvy people have used VPN circumvention software to post messages about the protests.

To spread the message abroad, the anonymously operated Twitter account opened its inbox to receive videos from across China, and several protests were live-streamed on Instagram.

Chinese students studying abroad have organized similar demonstrations around the world, including in several cities in North America and Europe.

In an Instagram video geolocated by Agence France-Presse, singing protesters erected a mock sign on Urumqi Road in Shanghai on a lamppost outside the Chinese Consulate General in Toronto, Canada.

A fire broke out in the Jixiangyuan Community in Urumqi, Xinjiang on the evening of the 24th. It is suspected that excessive closures prevented residents from escaping and rescue, causing deaths and injuries.

Shanghai citizens gathered on Urumqi Middle Road to mourn the accident on the 26th. There were flower bouquets and candlelight at the scene, but the police forcefully cleared the scene.