Taiwan's government and opposition called on Beijing to listen to the protesters' voices and adjust its epidemic prevention policies in accordance with public opinion

 The protesters' voices and adjust its epidemic prevention policies in accordance with public opinion

Over the weekend, Chinese mainland, very rare protests and demonstrations against the "dynamic zero" and lockdown and epidemic prevention policies broke out in many cities, including Shanghai and Beijing, and a white paper movement of college students holding white paper in protest on the campuses of many Chinese universities, including Tsinghua University, attracted great attention from Taiwan's government and opposition across the strait. The Taiwan authorities and the ruling and opposition parties have also issued statements, calling on Beijing authorities to listen to the voice of the demonstrators, comply with public opinion, and revise the current epidemic prevention policy.

You Xikun, president of Taiwan's legislature, who is on a five-day visit to Japan, posted on Facebook on Tuesday (November 29) that he heard that Chinese people were protesting in many places and could not help but worry about the deaths and injuries of Chinese people.

"Xi Zhe said: 'The people are the purpose of the state'. Although I am in a foreign country and cannot further understand the correctness of the message, I still solemnly appeal to the Chinese government to face up to the needs of the people and promote reform and opening up at an early date," You Xikun said.

The weekend protests in Shanghai, China's business and financial hub, were the most notable as demonstrators shouted slogans seen in China as "great disobedience," explicitly demanding "Xi Jinping step down" and "Communist Party step down." Shanghai was locked down for about two months this spring, and more than 20 million citizens experienced various pains caused by "dynamic zeroing" and severe lockdown measures, and Shanghai's economy was also hit hard.

Taiwan's chief executive, Su Zhenchang, said Taiwan is closely monitoring developments in China, including watching for signs that Beijing is using military action against Taiwan to divert attention.

Demonstrations holding white paper on the campus of Tsinghua University in Beijing have also attracted attention. The students held up blank sheets of paper and silently expressed their protests, with the tendency of "silence is better than sound at this time", and no words on the paper were better than a thousand words. In addition to being particularly sensitive to people taking to the streets, the Chinese government is also very concerned about uncontrollable demonstrations on university campuses.

China's university campuses often become hotbeds of student movements, and the June Fourth Democracy Movement, which shocked the world, was originally born on university campuses. And the Communist Party itself was a veteran of the campus student movement before it became popular in Chinese politics. Therefore, the Beijing authorities clearly understand that in the current Internet era of developed information, the sparks on university campuses can quickly turn into a fire.

To prevent the white paper movement and the escalation of protests, universities in Beijing and Guangdong have taken early holidays to send students from all over the country back to their hometowns. In major cities where demonstrations broke out over the weekend, police have stepped up their police presence on the streets.

On November 29, the Chinese government stepped up police deployment in places such as Beijing and Shanghai where anti-lockdown protests and demonstrations took place. At the same time, some tertiary institutions arrange for students to go home early to avoid more protests.

Taiwan's Executive Yuan's Mainland Affairs Council, which specializes in cross-strait affairs, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have issued statements calling on the CCP to echo the people's demands and prevent excessive epidemic prevention and control measures. Taiwan's Foreign Ministry also said Chinese people's fundamental rights and freedom of expression and movement must be protected.

Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party issued a press release Monday night calling on Beijing to listen to the voices of the people and truly serve the people, rather than suppress them through military and police violence.

"Now people all over China are taking to the streets to demand the lifting of the blockade and freedom, which reflects only the most basic voice of the Chinese people. The CCP authorities should think about how to appropriately revise the current epidemic prevention measures and respond positively to the demands of the Chinese people," the DPP said in a press release.

Taiwan's opposition party, the Kuomintang, which has a relatively good relationship with Chinese mainland, also issued a statement on Tuesday, expressing concern that Beijing is still implementing strict epidemic control measures in an environment of gradual international relaxation, causing many inconveniences to people's lives, and many Taiwanese people who study and work in Chinese mainland are not spared.

"The widening of the conflict is by no means desirable to anyone, let alone continue and cause irreparable regret," the KMT said in a statement. The Kuomintang said that in addition to expressing its position of standing with freedom and human rights, it also called on the mainland authorities to face up to the needs of the mainland people, "appropriately relax epidemic control measures from the perspective of science and medicine, strike a balance between epidemic prevention and people's lives, and avoid the continuous expansion of conflicts."