At Shanghai vigil, bold shout for change preceded crackdown


              FILE - People mourn for the victims of a recent deadly fire at a residential building in Urumqi city at a road sign of the Middle Wulumuqi Road or Middle Urumqi Rd in Shanghai, China on Nov. 26, 2022. What started as an unplanned vigil last weekend in Shanghai by fewer than a dozen people grew hours later into a rowdy crowd of hundreds. The protesters expressed anger over China's harsh COVID-19 policies that they believed played a role in a deadly fire on Nov. 24 in a city in the far west. (AP Photo, File)
            
              Residents light candles near a sign which reads "Urumqi, 11.24, Rest in Peace" in red — referring to the deadly apartment fire in China's western city of Urumqi that sparked anger over perceptions the country's strict COVID-19 measures played a role in the disaster during a vigil in Shanghai during the early hours of Nov 27, 2022 . What started as an unplanned vigil last weekend in Shanghai by fewer than a dozen people grew hours later into a rowdy crowd of hundreds. The protesters expressed anger over China's harsh COVID-19 policies that they believed played a role in a deadly fire on Nov. 24 in a city in the far west. (AP Photo)
            
              Chinese police officers surround protesters to detain them in Shanghai during the early hours of Nov. 27, 2022. What started as an unplanned vigil last weekend in Shanghai by fewer than a dozen people grew hours later into a rowdy crowd of hundreds. The protesters expressed anger over China's harsh COVID-19 policies that they believed played a role in a deadly fire on Nov. 24 in a city in the far west. (AP Photo)
            
              FILE - Chinese police officers block off access to a site where protesters had gathered in Shanghai on Nov. 27, 2022. What started as an unplanned vigil last weekend in Shanghai by fewer than a dozen people grew hours later into a rowdy crowd of hundreds. The protesters expressed anger over China's harsh COVID-19 policies that they believed played a role in a deadly fire on Nov. 24 in a city in the far west. (AP Photo, File)
            
              FILE - A protester resist as he is taken away by policemen from a street in Shanghai, China on Nov. 27, 2022. What started as an unplanned vigil last weekend in Shanghai by fewer than a dozen people grew hours later into a rowdy crowd of hundreds. The protesters expressed anger over China's harsh COVID-19 policies that they believed played a role in the deadly fire on Nov. 24 in a city in the far west. (AP Photo, File)
            
              FILE - Residents mourn for the victims of a recent deadly fire at a residential building in Urumqi city at a road sign of the Middle Wulumuqi Road or Middle Urumqi Rd in Shanghai, China on Nov. 26, 2022. What started as an unplanned vigil last weekend in Shanghai by fewer than a dozen people grew hours later into a rowdy crowd of hundreds. The protesters expressed anger over China's harsh COVID-19 policies that they believed played a role in the deadly fire on Nov. 24 in the city in the far west. (AP Photo, File)
            
              FILE - In this image taken from video, firefighters spray water on a fire at a residential building that killed several people in Urumqi in western China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, on Nov. 24, 2022. What started as an unplanned vigil last weekend in Shanghai by fewer than a dozen people grew hours later into a rowdy crowd of hundreds. The protesters expressed anger over China's harsh COVID-19 policies that they believed played a role in the deadly fire on Nov. 24 in the city in the far west. (AP Photo, File)
            
              FILE - Chinese policemen pin down a protester and covered his mouth during a protest on a street in Shanghai, China on Nov. 27, 2022. What started as an unplanned vigil last weekend in Shanghai by fewer than a dozen people grew hours later into a rowdy crowd of hundreds. The protesters expressed anger over China's harsh COVID-19 policies that they believed played a role in the deadly fire on Nov. 24 in a city in the far west. (AP Photo, File)
            
              FILE - Chinese police officers block off access to a site where protesters had gathered in Shanghai on Nov. 27, 2022. What started as an unplanned vigil last weekend in Shanghai by fewer than a dozen people grew hours later into a rowdy crowd of hundreds. The protesters expressed anger over China's harsh COVID-19 policies that they believed played a role in the deadly fire on Nov. 24 in a city in the far west. (AP Photo, File)
            
              FILE - A protester holding flowers is confronted by a policeman during a protest on a street in Shanghai, China on Nov. 27, 2022. What started as an unplanned vigil last weekend in Shanghai by fewer than a dozen people grew hours later into a rowdy crowd of hundreds. The protesters expressed anger over China's harsh COVID-19 policies that they believed played a role in the deadly fire on Nov. 24 in a city in the far west. (AP Photo, File)
At Shanghai vigil, bold shout for change preceded crackdown