2016-17 Shangean Protests

2016-17 Shangean Protests
Part of Normalisation
Xiaodongese tanks enter Rongzhuo to break up protests
Date	October 15, 2016 - January 18, 2017 (3 months and 3 days)
Location	Rongzhuo, Baiqiao, Shenkong, Henjintao, Kuoqing, several more cities and towns
Caused by	Electoral fraud Authoritarianism High unemployment Corruption Lack of political reform
Goals	New elections, democratic reforms, end of corruption, freedom of the press
Methods	Peaceful protest, sit-in, occupation of public property, strikes, riots
Resulted in	Resignation of Jiang Zhongyu 2017 election Start of Normalisation
Parties to the civil conflict
Government of Xiaodong Xiaodong Regeneration Society Xiaodongese Army Public Security Secretariat Students Pro-democracy activists Reformists
Lead figures
Yuan Xiannian Xi Yao-tong Xu Bangguo Chen Qianshi Kang Yongqing
Casualties
Death(s)	~500 civilians killed

The 2016-17 Xiaodongese protests were a series of pro-democracy protests and strikes in Xiaodong staged between the 15^th October 2016-18^th January 2017 before they were dispersed during a crackdown by government authorities.

The protests were started after several corruption allegations were made against Chairperson of the State Presidium of Xiaodong Jiang Zhongyu. Peaceful protests in Baiqiao were seen to be crushed by the national police on the 20^th October 2016 which unleashed a new wave of much larger, more disruptive protests across the country. Police repression only increased the protests and led to riots meaning that on the 19^th November Jiang Zhongyu announced his resignation with Premier Yuan Xiannian becoming his successor and given the responsibility to organise new elections. This led to a temporary lull in the protests as elections were organised to take place on the 10^th January 2017.

The elections when held saw a landslide majority for Yuan's supporters, which were considered suspicious by outside observers. Allegations of electoral fraud led to a series of protests demanding the government resign and new, internationally monitored elections be held. These protests were accompanied by strikes by working people and trade unions. In Rongzhuo over 2 million turned out to protest, whilst smaller protests were held around the country. Protesters called for new elections, democratic reform and amongst workers better working conditions.

After several days of protesting on the 18^th January the government sent tanks into Rongzhuo to crush protesters killing over 200 in a day, arresting protesters and striking workers' and labelling several opposition groups as terrorist groups. A special session of the State Presidium - boycotted by opposition politicians still legally allowed to operate - saw Yuan Xiannian given special powers and announced a state of emergency. Over the next few days, over 100 more people were killed by authorities as part of a new process of "Normalisation."

Aftermath

Normalisation

Main article: Normalisation (Xiaodong)

Reactions

International

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• Senria - The government of Senria loudly criticised the repression of protests in Xiaodong, with the country's Foreign Affairs Minister, Yuki Takamatsu, releasing a statement urging "all civilised nations to wholeheartedly and immediately condemn the shedding of innocent blood by the Xiaodongese regime". A formal statement released by the office of Prime Minister Hayato Nishimura stated that "for all of Xiaodong's insistence that it has changed since the dark days of the 1920s and 1930s, the recent actions of the Xiaodongese regime prove the blatant hypocrisy and the continued totalitarianism of the Xiaodongese regime... it is immensely unfortunate that, instead of listening to the voice of the people, the Yuan government has continued in the bloody and violent path of his predecessors". Later, on Twitter, Nishimura described Xiaodong's actions as "utterly disgusting". Some Xiaodongese protest leaders- including Kang Yongqing of the Alliance for Democracy in Xiaodong- fled to Senria to escape possible jailing by Xiaodongese authorities; a statement from the Senrian government declared that Senria would grant political asylum to "anyone else fleeing this horrific repression in Xiaodong".