Over 100 Nongmingong Protesters Take to the Streets Against COVID-19 Lockdown
More Than Two Months of Quarantine Measures After New Infections... "Income Has Stopped," Complaints Emerge
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jeong-wan] On the 26th, a protest by migrant workers against the COVID-19 lockdown took place in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in China.
On the 28th, Hong Kong media Ming Pao reported, "About 100 migrant workers flooded the streets of Lhasa on the 26th, shouting to be allowed to return to their hometowns and clashed with uniformed police and personnel in protective suits."
Tibet, which had maintained a record of 920 days without infections, implemented strict quarantine policies including lockdowns after 22 new COVID-19 cases were reported on August 8. In this process, rural-origin urban migrant workers lost their jobs and were unable to return to their hometowns due to the lockdown.
A resident of Lhasa told Ming Pao, "Most of those who participated in the protest were Han migrant workers who came from other provinces or cities to work," adding, "They shouted that they wanted to return home, complaining about their dire situation due to loss of income."
The British BBC also reported, "Several videos showing hundreds of people protesting and clashing with police in Lhasa were posted on social media," noting, "The protest continued from the afternoon to night on the 26th, with hundreds participating."
One protester, who identified himself as Han rather than Tibetan, told the BBC, "If there were jobs in the mainland, I wouldn't have come here," and added, "The lockdown has lasted too long, so even if I want to go home, I can't."
Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported, "On the 27th, protests against the COVID-19 lockdown spread to at least four other areas within Lhasa, and the people in the videos appeared increasingly intolerant," adding, "A group of people tried to push open a huge iron gate."
Tibet is one of the regions in China under strict surveillance by authorities, and this protest is analyzed as the largest demonstration in the area in over a decade. Although these videos were deleted from Chinese social networking services (SNS), they have widely spread through platforms like Twitter.
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