China brings in ‘emergency’ level censorship over zero-Covid protests

Crackdown launched on virtual private networks, which protesters and other citizens had used to access banned non-Chinese news and social media apps

Chinese authorities have initiated the highest emergency response" level of censorship, according to leaked directives, including a crackdown on VPNs and other methods of bypassing online censorship after unprecedented protests demonstrated widespread public frustration with the zero-Covid policy.

The crackdown, including the tracking and questioning of protesters, comes alongside easing of pandemic restrictions, in an apparent carrot and stick approach to an outpouring of public grievances. During an extraordinary week in China, protests against zero-Covid restrictions included criticism of the authoritarian rule of Xi Jinping - which was further highlighted by the death of former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin.