Biden monitoring Covid unrest in China: White House

GBNEWS24DESK//

US President Joe Biden is monitoring unrest in China by protesters demanding an end to Covid lockdowns and greater political freedoms, the White House said on Monday, as smaller rallies popped up in the United States.

The comments came after hundreds of people took to the streets in China’s major cities over the weekend, in a rare outpouring of public frustration that has spread to international Chinese-speaking communities.

“He’s monitoring this. We all are,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday.

Kirby would not describe Biden’s reaction to the demonstrators’ demands, saying: “The president’s not going to speak for protesters around the world. They’re speaking for themselves.”

But he stressed the US support for the demonstrators’ rights.

“People should be allowed the right to assemble and to peacefully protest policies or laws or dictates that that they take issue with,” Kirby said.

Earlier Monday, the State Department suggested that the United States viewed Beijing’s Covid lockdown policies as excessive.

Discontent has been brewing for months in China over its harsh coronavirus control measures, with relentless testing, localized lockdowns and travel restrictions pushing many to the brink.

Around the United States, Chinese-speaking communities came together in vigils to mark lives lost to zero-Covid — with the latest gatherings sparked by a deadly fire in Urumqi city.