Netizens turn to social media to defy Beijing

Protesters in China opposing the Xi Jinping regime's zero-Covid policy are using blocked dating apps and social media platforms to evade censors and share information with each other.

Netizens are saving videos, images and accounts of protests on platforms abroad before official censors can delete them, according to the Reuters news agency.

Many rely on virtual private networks (VPNs), which banned, to get past China's Great Firewall and on to encrypted messaging apps.

For three days starting Nov 25, protesters gathered in several cities across the country in a show of civil disobedience unprecedented since President Xi sumed power a decade ago.