Monday night a rally was held at Columbia University, in New York, against the Chinese regime and its policies for handling COVID-19. Several hundred people gathered around the famous Alma-mater statue, which overlooks Columbia’s main square of the campus, in a protest that lasted about an hour and a half.
The event comes after the death of 10 people in the city of Urumqi, in the region of Xinjiang, in a fire. Lockdown measures had made it impossible for the victims to escape the flames and the incident further enhanced the frustration of Urumqi residents who have already been in lockdown for 100 days.
“Tonight we commemorate those lives that were lost in the lockdown while also stand in solidarity with all of the protestors in China right now who risk so much more than us to stand up to the atrocities of the CCP,” said Shawn, one of the organizers, to the crowd.
Participants lit candles to honor the lost lives, chanted slogans and held up banners. “Fuck Covid tests, give me back my freedom!” read one sign, and “CCP step down! Give me liberty or death,” read another.
A fight broke out between protestors and a Xi Jinping supporter who broke into the crowd, screaming furiously at the protestors. He was quickly removed from the gathering, which soon resumed.
This is one of the many events that is taking place across the city in solidarity with protestors in China. Today, a gathering is expected to take place in front of the Chinese Consulate of New York.
