Officials are using the ruling Communist Party’s decades-old policy of repression and surveillance to quash the most widespread protests in decades. But Xi Jinping is silent.
In a country where protests are swiftly quashed, many who gathered to voice their discontent — under the watchful eye of the police — were uncertain about how far to go.
In a country where the authorities have little tolerance for open dissent, demonstrators against Covid restrictions have turned to more subtle methods.