Beijing/Guangzhou: The communist party seems to be failing to prevent protests and the restrictions imposed by them in China. Despite the heavy crackdown in the last two days, large-scale protests erupted in Guangzhou city of China on Wednesday. The protesters turned violent and pelted stones at security forces. Along with Guangzhou, videos of clashes between the protesters and security forces in parts of Shanghai were released. Due to the fresh coronavirus outbreak, the manufacturing output and production have drastically reduced, and the Purchasing Managers’ Index – PMI has fallen to 48.

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A few weeks back, a lockdown was announced in Guangzhou to curb the increase in corona infections. Subsequently, the lockdown was extended, imposing stringent restrictions. Being agitated by this, citizens of Guangzhou have taken to the streets to protest. Confrontation of citizens with security forces and forceful removal of barricades was seen. After incidents in Urumqi, Guangzhou’s citizens have again become aggressive, and the protests have been going on for the last five days.

It comes as a surprise that despite the additional deployment of security forces by the Communist party, the protesters have not backed out from the streets. Protesters were seen forcibly removing the barricades and causing damage on the road. Videos and photos of protesters pelting stones at the security forces as soon as they started to exercise control have surfaced. After the security forces detained a few protesters, citizens began to gather in large groups on the street. Apart from Guangzhou, clashes between the protesters and security forces on the covid restrictions imposed were seen in the financial centre of Shanghai.

As per claims on social media, China is planning to deploy military forces as the protests are not getting controlled over the last five days. Videos of military tanks in the nearby areas of Shanghai were published. Hence it is apparent that China’s communist party is preparing to go to any extent to curb the protests. In a statement released by China’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission has been warned to foil any attempts of infiltration and assassination. Meanwhile, the corona outbreak has greatly impacted China’s manufacturing sector. The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), an indicator of developments in the manufacturing industry, has fallen to 48 from 49.2, as reported last month. PMI below 50 indicates the economy is in recession.

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