Discontent over China’s zero-Covid suppression policy came to a head last weekend in a series of unprecedented protests across the country. The civil disobedience – remarkable just for the fact it was happening at all in a state where such behaviour is rarely tolerated – seemed to have been smothered by police by the start of the week. Even so it revealed to the world signs of a hitherto unseen fracture in China’s totalitarian political system.
The magazine’s cover design this week reflects the power of blank paper and the abstract creativity used by protesters to express their feelings in such an oppressive environment. As one Beijing resident said: “We launched the blank paper remembrance movement. Do we say anything on the paper? No. All accusations are in our hearts. All thoughts are in our hearts.”
