20221214 women protesters in Beijing and Xi

Did the "white paper movement" force an authoritarian to make a concession, or give him an excuse to pivot away from an economic boondoggle? (Background photo touched up for security reasons. Nikkei montage/Reuters)

Analysis: China's female protesters break nation free from zero-COVID

Xi snubbed women in leadership shuffle but pent-up frustration may boomerang

Katsuji Nakazawa is a Tokyo-based senior staff and editorial writer at Nikkei. He spent seven years in China as a correspondent and later as China bureau chief. He was the 2014 recipient of the Vaughn-Ueda International Journalist prize.

Saturday was a watershed moment for China, with authorities on high alert to prevent the student movement against the strict zero-COVID policy from turning into a wider call for democracy and universal human rights.

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