Protesters hold up blank papers and chant slogans as they march in protest in Beijing, Sunday, November 27, 2022. Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China's powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations Sunday that represent a rare direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party. (Photo by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)





Chinese policemen form a line to stop protesters marching in Beijing, Sunday, November 27, 2022. (Photo by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)





Police officers confront a man as they block Wulumuqi street, named for Urumqi in Mandarin, in Shanghai on November 27, 2022, in the area where protests against China's zero-Covid policy took place the night before following a deadly fire in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region. (Photo by Héctor Retamal/AFP Photo)





Protesters and police gather during a protest against Chinas strict zero COVID measures on November 28, 2022 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)





People gather for a vigil and hold white sheets of paper in protest over coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions, during a commemoration of the victims of a fire in Urumqi, as outbreaks of COVID-19 continue, in Beijing, China on November 27, 2022. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)





Police stand as part of a cordon during a protest against Chinas strict zero COVID measures on November 28, 2022 in Beijing, China. Protesters took to the streets in multiple Chinese cities after a deadly apartment fire in Xinjiang province sparked a national outcry as many blamed COVID restrictions for the deaths. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)





This aerial photo taken on November 28, 2022 shows excavators transferring coal at a port in Lianyungang, in China's eastern Jiangsu province. (Photo by Reuters/China Stringer Network)





Students light candles on the campus of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, in solidarity with protests held on the mainland over Beijing's Covid-19 restrictions, in Hong Kong on November 28, 2022. Hundreds of people have taken to the streets in China's major cities in a rare outpouring of public anger against the state over its zero-Covid policy. (Photo by Peter Parks/AFP Photo)





A protester lies on the ground after being pushed during a protest over coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions in mainland China, during a commemoration of the victims of a fire in Urumqi, in Hong Kong, China on November 28, 2022. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)





Epidemic-prevention workers in protective suits line up to get swab tested as outbreaks of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continue in Beijing, China on November 28, 2022. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)





Volunteer health workers prepare bags of vegetables for residents under lockdown in Beijing, China, 28 November 2022. According to the National Health Commission, China has reported 36,525 new COVID-19 cases on 28 November, making it a record high for the fifth consecutive day as the country continues to contain outbreaks in several cities such as Guangzhou and Chongqing in the south. (Photo by Wu Hao/EPA/EFE)





A woman rides past police vehicles parked along a road monitoring near the site of last weekend protest in Beijing, Tuesday, November 29, 2022. With police out in force, there was no word of protests Tuesday in Beijing, Shanghai or other major cities. (Photo by Andy Wong/AP Photo)





Residents undergo swab testing at a residential area under lockdown due to Covid-19 coronavirus restrictions in Beijing on November 29, 2022. (Photo by Noel Celis/AFP Photo)





In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, the light trail of the launched manned spaceship Shenzhou-15, atop the Long March-2F Y15 carrier rocket after it blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China on Tuesday, November 29, 2022. China launched the rocket Tuesday carrying three astronauts to complete construction of the country's permanent orbiting space station. (Photo by Ren Junchuan/Xinhua via AP Photo)





A worker checks footballs at a factory in Nantong in China's eastern Jiangsu province on November 29, 2022. (Photo by AFP Photo/China Stringer Network)





Winter swimming enthusiasts are swimming in Beiling Park at 1 degree (–17°C) in Shenyang City, northeast China's Liaoning Province, 30 November, 2022. (Photo by Rex Features/Shutterstock)





A man rides a tricycle during snowfall in Yantai in China's eastern Shandong province on November 30, 2022. (Photo by AFP Photo/China Stringer Network)





A health worker in a protective suit waits at a traffic light in a street in the central business district (CBD) that is largely deserted because of work-from-home orders as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreaks continue in Beijing, China on November 30, 2022. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)





A child wearing a face mask and riding on a scooter passes by a worker in protective suit on his way to collect COVID samples from the lockdown residents in Beijing, Thursday, December 1, 2022. More cities eased anti-virus restrictions as Chinese police tried to head off protests Thursday while the ruling Communist Party prepared for the high-profile funeral of the late leader Jiang Zemin. (Photo by Andy Wong/AP Photo)





Mourners pay their respects to late former Chinese President Jiang Zemin outside Beijing's China Liaison Office in Hong Kong, China, 01 December 2022. Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, who served as head of state from 1993 to 2003, has died at the age of 96 on 30 November 2022. (Photo by EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)