People stand in front of a line of police officers during a demonstration against COVID-19 curbs following the deadly Urumqi fire, in Shanghai, China, on Nov. 27.CASEY HALL/Reuters As a large Beijing street protest against strict COVID curbs reached a climax late last Sunday, several protesters shouted the unspeakable – for China’s ruling Communist Party and its leader Xi Jinping to step down. They were quickly rebuked by some fellow protesters. “Don’t get people too riled up … we didn’t say anybody should step down,” one lead protester told the crowd through a megaphone. It was a scene repeated across...