Chinese cities under heavy policing

On alert: Policemen (in yellow) standing guard on Wulumuqi road, named for Urumqi in Mandarin, in Shanghai. — AFP

SHANGHAI: China’s major cities of Beijing and Shanghai were blanketed with security in the wake of nationwide rallies calling for political freedoms and an end to Covid lockdowns.

The country’s leadership faced a weekend of protests not seen in decades, as anger over unrelenting lockdowns fuels deep-rooted frustration with the country’s political system as a whole.