JAKARTA - United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday President Joe Biden's Administration supports China's zero-COVID protesters, explaining he would discuss the topic when visiting the country early next year.
"Of course, we know," Foreign Minister Blinken told CNN's Jake Tapper at "State of the Union" when asked about US support for protesters demonstrating against China's strict COVID-19 restrictions, as reported December 5.
"We support the rights of people everywhere, both in China, in Iran, elsewhere, to protest peacefully, to express their views, to vent their frustrations."
Furthermore, Foreign Minister Blinken said he would protest directly to Chinese officials next month.
"We will say what we always say and what President (Joe) Biden told (Chinese leader) Xi Jinping, namely human rights and basic civil liberties are at the core of who we are as Americans. And there is no American government, no American president will remain silent about that," Foreign Minister Blinken said.
Demonstrations in China were sparked by a deadly fire on November 24 in Urumqi, the capital of the westernmost region of Xinjiang.
The blaze killed at least 10 people and injured nine people in an apartment building, which caused public outrage after the video of the incident appeared to suggest lockdown measures had delayed firefighters from reaching the victims.
It is known, the city has been in lockdown for more than 100 days, with residents unable to leave the area and many forced to stay at home.
As the number of protests swelled, many also demanded greater political freedom.
Large-scale protests are very unusual in China. While demonstrations of local complaints occur periodically, the protests have been the most widespread since the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement.
The Chinese government has cracked down quickly, deploying police at major protest sites, calling on protesters to warn them and tightening online sensors.
Foreign Minister Blinken said Washington would take the same approach as protesters' rights were suppressed elsewhere.
"We spoke against him, we opposed him, and we took action against him," he said.
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