White House Says It Supports People’s Right to Protest in Response to Mass COVID Demonstrations in China

Republican lawmakers, however, have called for a stronger response from the administration

National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby speaks during the daily briefing in the James S Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on Nov. 28, 2022. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

The Biden administration says it supports Chinese people’s rights to peacefully protest the communist regime’s COVID policies after widespread unrest rocked the country over the weekend.

“People should be allowed ... the right to assemble and to peacefully protest policies or laws or dictates ... that they take issue with,” White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters at a Nov. 28 press briefing. “The White House supports the right of peaceful protest.”

He stopped short of directly backing protesters’ calls for greater freedoms in China.

When asked what President Joe Biden’s reaction was to demonstrators’ demands “to regain personal freedoms” and for Chinese leader Xi Jinping to “step down,” Kirby replied, “The president’s not going to speak for protesters.”

“These protesters are speaking for themselves. What we are doing is making it clear that we support the right of peaceful protest,” he added when pressed by the reporter.

He said the president was briefed on the protests, adding that the administration will continue to “watch this closely and we will see where things go.”

Some, however, perceived the White House’s response as lacking. “In other words, the White House dares not offend Beijing,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) wrote on Twitter, commenting on a clip from Kirby’s press conference.

The White House’s statements stand in contrast to the administration’s vocal stance on Iran’s treatment of protesters since September. Addressing the ongoing unrest in Iran during the Nov. 28 conference, Kirby said the United States will “do whatever we can do not only support their right of protest but to hold the regime accountable for the way he’s treating his people.”

Over the weekend, mass protests broke out in at least 10 Chinese cities from Beijing to Shanghai, amounting to the largest display of civil disobedience the tightly controlled communist country has seen in decades.

Protesters called for an end to Beijing’s zero-COVID policies—a harsh containment strategy involving lockdowns, strict quarantine measures, and mass testing—while some demanded Xi step down from power.

Earlier in the day, a White House official softly criticized Beijing’s COVID handling strategy.

“We think it’s going to be very difficult for the People’s Republic of China to be able to contain this virus through their zero-COVID strategy,” a White House National Security Council spokesperson told The Epoch Times.

The protests were sparked after a deadly fire in a high-rise apartment building killed 10 and injured nine in Urumqi, the capital of the far western Xinjiang region, parts of which have been under a prolonged lockdown. Many Chinese blamed the COVID curbs for preventing residents from escaping the blaze and delaying rescue efforts.

Over the past three years, dozens of Chinese cities and regions have experienced prolonged lockdowns impacting hundreds of millions of citizens. This has resulted in widespread accounts of suffering, ranging from denial of access to health care and food supplies to deaths under strict quarantine conditions.

While many Western countries, including much of the United States, adopted China-style lockdowns during the initial stages of the pandemic, most of the world has since moved on, opting to live with the virus instead.

Police officers confront a man as they block Wulumuqi Street in Shanghai on Nov. 27, 2022. (HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images)

The National Security Council spokesperson said the United States isn’t pursuing such containment measures, but instead focuses on “what works,” including vaccinations and accessible testing and treatment.

Amid the unprecedented public unrest, China watchers in the United States and elsewhere have been taking notice.

“Don’t take for granted what we have in the USA,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) wrote on Twitter on Nov. 28.

Neither Biden nor Secretary of State Antony Blinken has made public statements about the protests, and at least one senator, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), has called on Biden to express more forceful support for the protesters.

“Chinese citizens are making their voices heard and are speaking out against communism,” she wrote on Twitter on Nov. 28, adding that Biden needs to discourage Chinese authorities from using violence in response. “The United States must support these freedom fighters.”

Some Republicans were critical of the Biden administration’s response, with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) describing it as “worse than expected.”

“The CCP should know that one way or another, in the coming months or in the coming years, the United States will hold accountable each and every CCP official responsible for atrocities against these protesters,” he said in a Nov. 28 statement posted on Twitter.

The United Nations, meanwhile, has urged China to exercise restraint in line with international human rights laws and standards in responding to the protests.

“No one should be arbitrarily detained for peacefully expressing their opinions,” Jeremy Laurence, a U.N. Human Rights Office spokesperson, told reporters on Nov. 28.

Citing the “regrettable deaths and injuries” in Xinjiang, Laurence stressed the need for “transparency in responding to public concerns, and to learn lessons from the tragedy.”

“Any restrictive measures need to be limited in duration, and there should be safeguards and mechanisms through which people can channel their concerns and seek redress,” he said.