“They are braver than us”

Tokyo, Munich Chinese dissident Wang Dan believes that the recent protests in China “have a significant impact on Chinese society, even if they are crushed”. The co-organizer of the large student protests in 1989 on Tiananmen Square said on Thursday at a press conference in Tokyo. Wang was arrested after the bloody crackdown on the protests and has lived in exile in the United States since 1998.

The current demonstrations have achieved something that the party has previously prevented through extensive censorship: Many people have been able to communicate with like-minded people. This showed the participants that they are not alone, Wang emphasizes.

Over the weekend, thousands demonstrated against the strict zero-Covid policy in cities with millions of inhabitants such as Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan. Experts speak of the largest political demonstrations in decades.