China’s zero-COVID policy gained worldwide attention last week as videos showed how a physically locked down apartment complex on fire led to the deaths of 10 people in the northwestern Xinjiang region. Some blamed the tragedy on the strict lockdown measures residents were placed under, making them unable to escape the building.

The fatal fire, coupled with previous unrest caused by harsh working conditions allegedly endured by thousands of Chinese employees at Foxconn’s flagship iPhone factory, has led to calls from citizens for Chinese President Xi Jinping to “step down.”

The policy implemented by Chinese officials was said to not be “sustainable considering the behavior of the virus,” according to World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus earlier this year.

China’s zero-COVID policy has resulted in entire cities, businesses and communities being brought to a standstill over the last two years, despite the economic impact.

The country has maintained that it has had few infections and deaths in the past two years due to its strict policy. However, the latest data from China released by Johns Hopkins University has indicated that from October 26 to November 26 the number of COVID cases had increased by more than 490 percent.

“China has had enough of the COVID tyranny,” tweeted Arizona Representative Andy Biggs on Monday. “These types of draconian lockdowns are ineffective and crumble societies.”

“God Bless the brave protestors in China,” tweeted Ohio Representative Jim Jordan on Monday. “Don’t take for granted what we have in the USA.”

Meanwhile, Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said she was “praying” for Chinese demonstrators in cities including Beijing and Shanghai.

“The CCP has abused China’s people long enough,” she tweeted Monday. “Covid has been an evil tool of oppression. It started in Wuhan, it ends in Wuhan.”

“The people of China are standing up and demanding freedom, even knowing the major risk of doing so in their country,” tweeted Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert. “People are born to be free, not oppressed by government regimes. Keep fighting for freedom!”

Boebert was among the most vocal conservatives in Congress when it came to domestic coronavirus vaccine mandates and lockdowns.

At last year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Boebert said she and others were fighting to expose “their agenda,” referring to Democrats, and added that “God almighty” and not the federal government provides American citizens their rights.

“We’ve been living under tyrannical rule that wants to keep us separated. Keep us isolated. Keep us locked down and muzzle our children,” the GOP lawmaker said.

Two days prior to her appearance at CPAC in Dallas, Boebert compared President Joe Biden’s COVID “surge response teams” to dictatorial actions of Adolf Hitler’s Germany—even rhetorically asking, “Did I wake up in Communist China?”

Meanwhile, new videos documenting the continued unrest in China have shown protestors be dragged away by Chinese authorities while Western journalists have also allegedly been “beaten.” Ed Lawrence, a BBC camera operator who works for the organization’s China bureau, was handcuffed and arrested in footage caught on video.

“He was held for several hours before being released. During his arrest, he was beaten and kicked by the police. This happened while he was working as an accredited journalist,” the BBC said. “It is very worrying that one of our journalists was attacked in this way whilst carrying out his duties.”

In addition, video posted to Twitter on Sunday showed a portion of a gate separating citizens from their community in Wuhan, the epicenter of the global pandemic, being torn down. It has been viewed nearly 2 million times as of Monday afternoon.

Newsweek reached out to the Republican National Committee (RNC) for comment.