- Mass protests have emerged in China over strict COVID-19 lockdowns after 10 people died in a fire.
- DeSantis praised the protestors and said COVID lockdowns belong in the "ash heap of history."
Republican Gov. Ron Desantis of Florida praised Chinese protestors on Tuesday who have been taking to the streets in revolt against monthslong COVID-19 lockdowns that have bound millions of people into their homes.
"The people of China are right to be able to speak out and protest against what the Chinese Communist Party is doing," DeSantis said as he kicked off a press conference on an unrelated topic in Jacksonville, Florida.
Demonstrations broke out over the weekend across major cities including Beijing, Shanghai, and Wuhan following an apartment fire in Urumqi that resulted in the death of 10 people. In some cities, protesters have called for the removal of President Xi Jinping.
The protests were over China's strict "zero-COVID" policy that involves mass, repeated testing and locking down large cities over extended periods during infection surges over the last three years. Most other countries have returned to normal as they work to live with the virus.
Chinese protestors held up blank, white pieces of paper above their heads to protest against the zero COVID policies. The blank sheet of paper has become a symbol of defiance against the ruling Communist party in China.
DeSantis on Tuesday took aim at China's government, saying its policies were about controlling its citizens. "This CCP has a maniacal desire to exert total control over its population," he said. "Zero COVID is just a pretext for them to do what they want to do anyways. That is not a model that can work over the long term. The people of China are finally speaking out against it."
He called China's COVID policies "draconian" and said lockdowns belong in the "ash heap of history."
"It violates people's liberties and is completely unscientific," he said.
DeSantis made a national name for himself by resisting federal public health guidance on COVID. Instead, he reopened schools before most states, blocked businesses from forcing customers to proved they'd been vaccinated, and blocked schools from forcing students to wear masks.
While he received widespread criticism at the time, most states have followed Florida to significantly relax their COVID-19 rules, particularly now that vaccines are widely available. Floridians appear to have backed DeSantis' pandemic approach, with voters handing DeSantis a nearly 20-point victory margin for reelection on November 8.
The White House has also weighed in on the protests in China, predicting that zero COVID policy would be ineffective. China has reported a far lower death toll than the US — 30,000 compared to 1 million — though it's not clear how effective the strategy will be in the long term, and its economy has suffered.
"Our message to peaceful protesters around the world is the same and consistent," John Kirby, spokesman for President Joe Biden administration's National Security Council, said Monday. "People should be allowed the right to assemble and to peacefully protest policies or laws or dictates that they take issue with."