Protests in China over COVID lockdowns shouldn't be compared to Tiananmen square for a lot of reasons

Recent protests in China drew comparisons to the political demonstrations of 1989, as well as to more localized and group-specific protests since 1990. This raises questions of how the present protests differ from previous ones, whether they represent a new type of protest, and how outside policymakers can best respond to them.

In China, lockdown protests against Xi Jinping's 'zero-covid' policy

The protests against China’s zero-COVID policies are notable for featuring overt criticism of Xi Jinping, the CCP and the country’s political system. Coming just weeks after Xi was reappointed to a third term as party leader, the protests are a major reversal in the triumphalist narrative he and the CCP had hoped to portray.

White paper protests in China in defiance of Xi Jinping's COVID protocol and propaganda

Back in 2020, the West’s initial difficulties in responding effectively to the coronavirus pandemic looked like a propaganda godsend for Beijing. Now, with China’s COVID-19 response triggering the biggest protests the country has seen in decades, it looks like the regime’s effort to capitalize on the pandemic has backfired spectacularly.