there ve been protests against covid restrictions in the western chinese city of urumqi following a deadly fire that killed ten people. crowds chanted the slogan end lockdown , and broke through barriers guarded by officials wearing hazmat suits. many residents appear to believe that covid controls contributed to delays in tackling the fire. urumqi is the capital of xinjiang province, home to millions of uyghur muslims. it s been under stringent coronavirus measures for three months as beijing continues to grapple with a steep rise in covid infections. 0ur correspondent katie silver is following this story from singapore. the fire broke out on the 15th floor of this apartment building on thursday night. we understand it took authorities about three hours to put it out and according to state media, ten people died from it and nine were injured. this deadly blaze has then attracted attention on social media, making many complain and question this ongoing commitment to zero covid. some r
people are also blaming xi jinping personally for not easing the zero covid approach which is tanking the economy. protests have been building in china all year, with people here increasingly sick of zero covid restrictions. the government seems to have drastically underestimated popular discontent, yet for the moment has no easy way out of the zero covid corner it s painted itself into. stephen mcdonell, bbc news, beijing. the transport secretary, mark harper, has said there s a need to reform the rail system to free up money for a pay offer in the long running dispute that has led to nationwide train strikes. speaking to the bbc s laura kuenssberg, he warned he didn t have a bottomless pit of taxpayers money to throw at the problem. 0ur political correspondent, helen catt, reports.
mcdonell reports from beijing. it s not unusual to see acts of defiance in china, but this was something different. a crowd of protesters in shanghai chanted, calling for the country s leader xijinping to stand down and for the communist party to give up power. a fire which killed ten residents in changsha last week has prompted widespread anger in china. zero covid restrictions have been blamed for hampering people s escape and slowing the access for fire crews. whether this is true or not, it s sparked waves of protest in the regional capital, urumqi. this has now spread to other cities and university campuses, as spontaneous memorial services for those who died in the fire have transformed into demonstrations, calling for an end to lockdowns, mass testing and other coronavirus measures.
whether this is true or not, it s sparked waves of protest in the regional capital, urumqi. this has now spread to other cities and university campuses, as spontaneous memorial services for those who died in the fire have transformed into demonstrations, calling for an end to lockdowns, mass testing and other coronavirus measures. people are also blaming xi jinping personally for not easing the zero covid approach which is tanking the economy. protests have been building in china all year, with people here increasingly sick of zero covid restrictions. the government seems to have drastically underestimated popular discontent, yet for the moment has no easy way out of the zero covid corner it s painted itself into. stephen mcdonell, bbc news, beijing. joining me now from lancaster,
arguing with officials, chanting lift the covid lockdown , and breaking through barriers. there was an eruption of anger online in china following the deadly blaze, with some questioning whether pandemic restrictions prevented residents from escaping, or hampered fire fighting efforts. urumqi in xinjiang province is home to many uighur muslims. it s been under stringent coronavirus measures for three months as beijing continues its zero covid policy, despite record daily infections. our correspondent katie silver is following this story from singapore. the fire broke out on the 15th floor of this apartment building on thursday night. we understand it took authorities about three hours to put it out and according to state media, ten people died from it and nine were injured. this deadly blaze has then attracted attention on social media, making many complain and question this ongoing commitment to zero covid. some residents telling the bbc that they question whether or not these people