Rallies quickly spread in China amid COVID-19 curbs

Chinese residents continue protests against the heavy COVID-19 restrictions and have already spread to Shanghai on November 26.

Protesters gathered at one of Beijing's most prestigious universities after a deadly fire in the country's far west sparked widespread anger, according to Channel News Asia.

The civil disobedience, including rallies in Urumqi, where a fire in a residential building killed 10 people this week, as well as in Beijing and in other cities, has reached all-time levels in China not seen ever since Xi Jinping assumed power a decade ago and comes amid mounting frustration over his signature zero-COVID policy.

The fire in the city of Urumqi, the capital of the autonomous region where the Muslim Uyghur minority lives, triggered protests after videos of the incident posted on social media led to accusations that the lockdown was a factor in the high death.

A candlelight vigil held in Shanghai on November 26 on a street named after the Uyghur city turned into a protest. 

Protests also occurred in Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University on November 27 where dozens of people held a peaceful protest against COVID-19 restrictions.

Slogans like "down with the Chinese Communist Party, down with Xi Jinping", could be heard during the rare public protest against the country's leadership.