NFT photos depicting Chinese protests to be sold on OpenSea

NFT photos depicting protests against the zero-tolerance COVID-19 policy flooded the OpenSea marketplace. Currently, there are more than 150 works on the platform that were created on the basis of Polygon and Ethereum.

The largest NFT collection of 135 photos is called “Silent Speech.” It is based on Polygon as part of a seven-day auction that will run until December 4th. “Silent Speech” includes images of protesters carrying signs to rallies in different cities across China, bloody disposable masks, crowds of protesters, and memorial candles. NFTs from this collection can be purchased for 0.01 ETH and 0.02 ETH.

Source: OpenSea

“Blank Paper Movement” is another collection that has been launched on the Ethereum network. It consists of 36 NFTs with a floor price of 10 ETH. Unlike “Silent Speech”, these images feature a more artistic take. The collection's name refers to the key NFTs that depict protesters carrying blank white sheets of paper. This is how the Chinese are protesting the country's suppression of free expression.

Source: OpenSea

Objects depicting a tragic fire, medical staff in protective gear, and law enforcement agents prepared to suppress the protestors were also included in the collection. The NFT “Road sign 404 Not Found” is the most expensive element of the “Blank Paper Movement.” Its price is 404 ETH. OpenSea users can purchase NFTs from this collection until May 2023.

Source: OpenSea

The anti-COVID protests in China, dubbed the “A4 revolution” by the media, began on Friday, November 25. They were sparked by a fire that broke out in one of Urumqi's buildings on November 24. State media reports said 10 people were killed by the blaze, another 9 injured people had varied degrees of severity.

Eyewitness statements and video records from the incident reveal that anti-epidemic efforts hampered rescue efforts. The victims were unable to escape on their own from the flats that were blocked due restrictions, and firefighters couldn't get to the fire in time. However,  immediately after the tragic incident, local authorities tried to refute this by accusing parked cars of blocking the building's entry.

The media is already calling the wave of protests spilled across major Chinese cities the most massive since 1989. People are increasingly demanding not only the lifting of the quarantine, but also the dismissal of the country's present leader, Xi Jinping.