Echoes of 1989: where the protests go next
Chinese Whispers29 Nov 2022

Echoes of 1989: where the protests go next

Comparisons with 1989’s Tiananmen Square protests are too often evoked when it comes to talking about civil disobedience in China. Even so, this weekend’s protests have been historic. It’s the first time since the zero Covid policy started that people across the country have simultaneously marched against the government, their fury catalysed by the deaths of ten people in a locked down high rise building in Xinjiang. Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Xi’An, Urumqi, Nanjing (my home city) have all seen protests over the weekend. Most of them attack the zero Covid policy, but some have called out ‘Down with Xi Jinping’.

After two days of protests, these cities, especially Shanghai, now see heavy police presence, with the authorities searching phones of any seeming troublemakers. This weekend’s burst of free speech may already have been snuffed out. Can the protestors sustain their momentum given the tight grip of the state?

I'm joined by Professor Jeff Wasserstrom at UC Irvine, an expert on protests in the mainland and Hong Kong, and Isabel Hilton, a long time China watcher and founder of China Dialogue.

Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.


For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.


Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Avsnitt(122)

New podcast: Quite right! with Michael Gove & Madeline Grant

New podcast: Quite right! with Michael Gove & Madeline Grant

Michael Gove and Madeline Grant launch Quite right!, The Spectator’s new podcast promising sanity and common sense in an increasingly unhinged world. This week, they talk about Labour’s deputy drama, ...

10 Sep 202518min

A compilation of Chinese Whispers: understanding China

A compilation of Chinese Whispers: understanding China

As Chinese Whispers comes to an end, here is a compilation of some of the best discussions Cindy Yu has had across the podcast to understand modern China and President Xi. On this episode you can hear...

5 Maj 20251h 37min

What does it take to be 'an old friend of the Chinese people'?

What does it take to be 'an old friend of the Chinese people'?

** Chinese Whispers is coming to an end. Later this year, Cindy Yu will be joining The Times and The Sunday Times to write a regular column on China. To stay abreast of her latest work, subscribe to h...

7 Apr 202537min

From Chimerica to Cold War II: how US-China relations soured

From Chimerica to Cold War II: how US-China relations soured

** Chinese Whispers is coming to an end. Later this year, Cindy Yu will be joining The Times and The Sunday Times to write a regular column on China. To stay abreast of her latest work, subscribe to h...

24 Mars 202536min

Rana Mitter on the legacy of Sun Yat-sen

Rana Mitter on the legacy of Sun Yat-sen

Walking around Taipei a couple of years ago, I spotted a familiar sight – a bronze statue of a moustachioed man, cane in his right hand, left leg striding forward. The man is Sun Yat-sen, considered m...

10 Mars 202543min

What China's planned mega-dam means for Asia

What China's planned mega-dam means for Asia

Just before the end of 2024, Chinese state media Xinhua slipped out an announcement – the long discussed mega-dam in Medog County, Tibet, has been greenlit. When built, it will generate three times mo...

24 Feb 202528min

Have America's chips controls backfired?

Have America's chips controls backfired?

Beginning in the first Trump presidency and expanded under Joe Biden, the US has taken a strategy of technologically containing China through restricting its access to cutting edge semiconductors. As ...

10 Feb 202557min

What is China's 'United Front' agenda?

What is China's 'United Front' agenda?

** Chinese Whispers is nominated in the Political Podcast Awards 2025. Vote for it to win the People's Choice category here **When Chinese spy scandals break, like the latest involving Prince Andrew a...

27 Jan 202533min

Populärt inom Politik & nyheter

svenska-fall
p3-krim
rss-krimstad
fordomspodden
aftonbladet-krim
spar
flashback-forever
rss-sanning-konsekvens
aftonbladet-daily
motiv
rss-vad-fan-hande
rss-krimreportrarna
rss-klubbland-en-podd-mest-om-frolunda
krimmagasinet
politiken
rss-frandfors-horna
dagens-eko
rss-aftonbladet-krim
blenda-2
rss-flodet