Angry crowds shout “freedom” and demand that Xi Jinping stop in a rare defiant demonstration as lockdown protests erupt across China

PROTESTS have erupted across Shanghai over China’s restrictive Covid lockdowns in a rare act of defiance.

Outrageous crowds risked hefty jail terms Saturday night by calling for President Xi’s ouster.

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The video shows protesters shouting slogans including “Xi Jinping, resign, Communist Party, resign” and “Unlock Xinjiang, unlock China, we want freedom.”

President Xi last month won a third term as general secretary of the Communist Party.

In Ürümqi, around 100 police officers stood in a row and prevented demonstrators from coming and going.

In other clips, people screamed and pushed against lines of men in the white hazmat suits worn by local government employees and pandemic prevention volunteers.

China has reported record-high infections and imposed tough restrictions in response as it continues to fight the virus nearly three years after the pandemic broke out in Wuhan.

The demonstrations are the latest signs of building frustration over China’s intensive approach to combating COVID-19.

It is the only major country in the world still fighting the pandemic through mass testing and lockdowns.

Given China’s vast security apparatus, protests are risky anywhere in the country, but they are exceptional in Xinjiang, which has been the target of a crackdown on security forces for years.

Many in Xinjiang have been in lockdown since August.

Most have been confined to their homes and some have reported dire conditions, including patchy food deliveries, which have left residents starving.

It comes as other protests have erupted in Xinjiang after 10 people were killed in a fire at an apartment building amid the tight restrictions.

Fire engines are believed to have been blocked by pandemic control barriers – and locals blame the restrictions for the deaths.

As of Friday, the city reported 220 new cases, the vast majority of which were asymptomatic.

It comes as Beijing also goes into lockdown again as part of China’s strict “zero Covid” lockdown measures.

Schools, restaurants, gyms, beauty salons and other establishments were closed this week.

City center residents will not be able to leave the area unless they have a negative Covid test, as well as permission from local authorities and have been told not to leave their homes “unless necessary”.

It comes after a Chinese man was arrested yesterday for staging a lone anti-lockdown protest before being freed by an angry crowd