US intelligence thinks China's protests will likely fizzle out because they are disorganized and leaderless: Politico

There have been protests in every major city — including Beijing, the Chinese capital.

NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images

• US officials think the protests in China are unlikely to gain momentum, Politico reported.
• Politico saw government communications on how the protests have been leaderless and disorganized.
• There might be violent crackdowns to deter further demonstrations, per the report.

US intelligence officials think the protests in China will eventually fizzle out and are unlikely to lead to larger, more organized mass protests.

That's according to government communications from Tuesday seen by Politico that described the movements as disorganized and mostly leaderless.

The Communist Party appears to have deployed an overwhelming police presence to try to intimidate protesters and deter further demonstrations, per the documents seen by Politico. There's also a risk of these suppression tactics becoming more aggressive and violent.

Anti-government protests erupted across every major Chinese city over Thanksgiving weekend, marking a moment of mass dissent that has never before been seen in President Xi Jinping's China. There's been a strong police presence in China as a result, and while the protests were largely peaceful, videos on Twitter have shown some people clashing with police. Some protesters in Shanghai described being pulled from the crowd indiscriminately, and being beaten and hung upside down by police officers.

Protests in Shanghai and Beijing have largely died down, though there were still clashes between protesters and police in Guangzhou on Tuesday night.

In the aftermath of the protests, some people have been contacted and questioned by police, the BBC reported. In Beijing, at least three people were arrested in their homes after attending a protest near Liangma River in the Chinese capital on Sunday.

Some COVID restrictions have been lifted in Guangzhou and Chongqing, and Xi is set to loosen more curbs this week, marking a partial rollback of his zero-COVID policy. 

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