Why are Chinese protesters using blank paper as a symbol of defiance?

After seeing an unanticipated spike in Covid-19-induced deaths in the country, China went into a tough and abrupt lockdown.

Hyderabad: After seeing an unanticipated spike in Covid-19-induced deaths in the country, China went into a tough and abrupt lockdown. This has caused widespread dissent among Chinese citizens who have gathered in various places across the country to protest against the regime.

Interestingly, protesters have turned up holding blank white papers, a practice that dates back to the 2020 Hong Kong demonstrations. Hong Kong city saw widespread protests in 2019 and 2020 against the proposed Extradition Law Amendment Bill.

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When the government heavily cracked down on signboards and posts against President Xi Jinping’s regime, protestors started to hold up blank sheets of paper.

The common sentiment apart from projecting the Chinese government’s attempt to silence the dissent is that the government would not be able to press charges for holding up a sign that says nothing.

A blank paper though has no words written on it, speaks volumes about the protest and somehow gives the message the protesters intend to deliver.

The latest wave of protests is triggered by the death of 10 people in an apartment fire in a western city, Urumqi. This is the same area where people were locked down for as long as 100 days.

The blank papers were visible in the photos and videos that did rounds on the internet. According to reports, these images are from Shanghai and the Communication University of China in Nanjing.