Protesters near White House demand ‘Free China!’

WASHINGTON (AP) — About 200 protesters in Washington have lit candles and shouted “Free China!” two blocks from the White House in a show of support for demonstrations in China demanding an end to severe anti-virus controls and political change. Protesters in Freedom Plaza held up signs saying, “No Dictatorship, No Censorship” and calling on President Xi Jinping and the ruling Communist Party give up power. They held up blank paper, a symbol of opposition to the party’s pervasive censorship. Some yelled, “Free China!” The protests erupted after a fatal fire in Urumqi in China’s northwest. Authorities rejected suggestions firefighters or people trying to escape might have been blocked by anti-virus controls.