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Thousands of older people have staged a rally in the rain in central China to protest against significant cuts to their medical benefits, in the latest outburst of public discontent since nationwide protests against Covid curbs gripped the country late last year.
Video clips on social media show a large crowd of elderly protesters in raincoats and holding umbrellas gathering outside the Wuhan city government by the Yangtze River on Wednesday, while police officers form a line to stop them from approaching the gates. The location of the rally has been verified by the Guardian.
“Ripping off ordinary folks like us? Why not rip off you officials first and cut your [benefits] by half? This is outrageous,” shouted a voice at police officers from behind the camera in a video on Radio Free Asia’s Twitter account.
Other footage showed elderly protesters surrounding a police vehicle while singing the Internationale and shouting slogans. Witnesses said some people were taken away by police.
A Wuhan city government official contacted by the Guardian said “we did not receive any notification,” while calls to Wuhan police went unanswered.
Local residents told Radio Free Asia that most of the protesters were retired workers at the Wuhan Iron and Steel plant, but there were also people from other state-owned enterprises and disgruntled residents whose homes had been forcibly demolished.
