"We want to be citizens, not slaves." That is the rallying cry of thousands of Chinese protesters who have taken to the streets in recent days.

Some have openly called for the government, and China's president Xi JinpingThe president of China, who has concentrated power and removed term limits allowing him to serve for life., to resign. Others have resorted to more subtle forms of protest, holding up blank pieces of paper symbolising their inability to speak. 

Groups of people sing the national anthem in public, putting special emphasis on one lyric: "Rise up, those who refuse to be slaves."

Meanwhile, Chinese social media, usually tightly controlled, has burst free of censorship to relay news and pictures of the protests.

Experts say this is the greatest challenge the Chinese government has faced to its authority since 1989, when protests in Tiananmen SquareA huge open space in the middle of Beijing. It is known for a large-scale student protest that took place there in 1989 before being brutally crushed by China's communist rulers. were brutally repressed.

The protests have been sudden, but discontent has been building for some time. Economic growth has been slowing down in China, which means living standards are not rising as quickly.

And the country was recently rocked by an economic crisis caused by a collapse in the housing market. Many were outraged when it was revealed that developers had been selling houses that were not even finished. Buyers turned up at their new home to find nothing but a concrete skeleton.

For many, this debacleA complete failure, often deserving ridicule. crystallised all that is wrong with the Chinese state: incompetence, corruptionWhen someone abuses their power for personal gain. It often involves bribery. and a lack of regard for human beings.

The country's restrictive "Zero Covid" policy, however, has done more than anything else to stir up discontent.

At first, people in China were supportive of the policy. It saved them from the mass deaths that western countries endured between 2020 and 2021.¹

But after almost three years of constant testing, sudden lockdowns, and restrictions on movement, many have been wondering when it will finally end.

Many hoped Xi Jinping would announce a timetable for returning to normality at the 20th party congress last month. But instead he insisted that Zero Covid must continue.

Cases have recently been rising in China, causing the government to strengthen its measures even further. Cities have been locked down. People who have tested positive have been forced to spend weeks in tiny crates with no internet access, often sharing a single toilet and charger.

So the country was already a powder kegA barrel of gunpowder. Often used to describe a situation which could become very dangerous. when a fire broke out in a block of flats in the remote north-western town of UrumqiThe capital of the Xinjiang region in the northwest of China.. Ten people died in the blaze. Locals say this was because the authorities did not allow them to leave their homes under the lockdown policy.

It was a story that horrified people across China. Everyone knows the same thing could happen to them. That is what has brought them out on to the streets.

Some warn there is no way out for Xi Jinping. The more he tries to impose Zero Covid, the more popular rage will grow. But if he backs down, it will look like weakness. His opponents in the government could use it as an opportunity to topple him. His only answer might be to suppress the protests at any cost.

Yes: There is simply too much popular rage for the government to handle. If people's lives are already unbearable, there is little more it can do to control them. It will have to back down, or it will be brought down.

No: China has the world's most efficient security state, and Covid-19 has given it still more tools of surveillance and control. It will quickly stamp out these protests.

Or... The government will offer some concessions on Zero Covid. Then the death rate will begin to rise, and it will use this as proof that the policy was necessary and reimpose the restrictions.