China’s pessimistic Gen Z poses challenge for Xi post-COVID

By Casey Hall, Josh Horwitz and Yew Lun Tian SHANGHAI (Reuters) – The first weekend after COVID-19 restrictions ended last month, dozens of young Chinese jostled in the dark at a heavy-metal concert in a tiny Shanghai music venue that reeked of sweat and hard liquor. It was the kind of freedom young Chinese had demanded in late November in protests against the zero-COVID policy that became the biggest outpouring of public anger in mainland China since President Xi Jinping took power a decade ago. After three years of lockdowns, testing, economic hardship and isolation, many of China’s Generati…

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