Anti-lockdown protests spread to Wuhan, China

Chinese protesters pulled down Covid-quarantine barricades in Wuhan as anti-lockdown protests spread across the country in the biggest challenge to Xi Jinping since he assumed power a decade ago.Show more

Chanting "we want freedom!", hundreds of people marched through the city where the coronavirus pandemic first broke out, ignoring orders to show their health passes in line with the government's draconian zero-Covid policies.

In Shanghai, protesters called for president Xi Jinping to step down while others cried out “give me liberty or give me death” in the city of Chengdu.

In the capital Beijing, police warned demonstrators not to chant "no more lockdowns" - so the crowd began to sing "we want lockdowns" and "I want to do Covid tests."

The country-wide protests are a momentous culmination to a week of unrest that has included massive demonstrations in the suppressed region of Xinjiang, riots at an iPhone factory in central China, and student marches on the campuses of some of China's most prestigious universities.

The unrest poses a serious challenge to Mr Xi, who has installed himself ruler for life after spending his first decade in office squeezing civil and political freedoms.