An attendee stands behind a painted fence on the Carnegie Mellon University campus in Oakland, Friday, Dec. 2, 2022, during a vigil for the victims of an apartment fire in Urumqi, China, which Chinese officials say killed 10 people and injured nine, as well as other people who are suffering under China’s strict COVID-19 policies and mandatory lockdowns. Speakers during the event also decried the alleged mistreatment and incarceration of Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities. (Alexandra Wimley/Pittsburgh Union Progress photos)
About 100 people listen to speakers during the vigil. A group of students and other community members gathered to paint the fence shortly after midnight the night before the event.
An attendee lights candles along the painted fence at the beginning of the vigil.
An organizer erects a re-created road sign referring to Shanghai’s Wulumuqi Road, which is named after Urumqi, China, the location of the deadly apartment fire, and where hundreds attended a protest on Sunday.
Organizers stand and bow their heads for a moment of silence in honor of the victims of the apartment fire in Urumqi, China, and others who are suffering under China’s strict COVID-19 policies and mandatory lockdowns.
Attendees hold blank sheets of white paper, which have become a symbol in protests against China’s COVID-19 policies.
A person lays a bouquet of flowers near the painted fence.
Attendees hold signs and blank sheets of white paper as they listen to speakers at the vigil.
An attendee holds a blank sheet of white paper.
Candles are lit in the shape of 11/24, the date of the apartment fire in Urumqi, China, that killed 10 people and injured nine, according to Chinese authorities.

Alexandra is a photographer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but she's currently on strike.

Alexandra Wimley

Alexandra is a photographer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but she's currently on strike.