Even the US establishment is not believing these protests will actually go any where.
Remember this is the New York Times, well known for its Western liberal cheer leading.
Sensationalism aside, I'm sure they'll still claim "victory" when China relaxes its restrictions and attribute it to these protests, indicating that this shows "weakness" on the side of Xi and that it "proves" Chinese people should protest more and overthrow the government.
Never allow facts to get in the way of propaganda.
The statement was in sharp contrast to the repeated condemnations of Iranian authorities for their months long efforts to put down protests against Tehran’s government, and particularly their enforcement of regulations that women must wear a hijab. But administration officials said that the situations were not comparable, and that they had doubts that the protests that played out on the streets of Beijing and Shanghai over the weekend would be sustained, or that the calls for an end to Covid restrictions amounted to a fundamental call for government change. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive deliberations.
Remember this is the New York Times, well known for its Western liberal cheer leading.
Sensationalism aside, I'm sure they'll still claim "victory" when China relaxes its restrictions and attribute it to these protests, indicating that this shows "weakness" on the side of Xi and that it "proves" Chinese people should protest more and overthrow the government.
Never allow facts to get in the way of propaganda.