BEIJING (AP) – Chinese authorities have eased anti-virus rules in scattered areas but affirmed their severe “zero-COVID” strategy after crowds demanded President Xi Jinping resign during protests against controls that confine millions of people to their homes. The protests are the most widespread display of opposition to the ruling Communist Party in decades. The city of Beijing announced it would no longer set up gates to block access to apartment compounds. That followed a deadly fire last week that set off demonstrations following angry questions about whether firefighters or victims trying to escape were blocked by locked doors or other controls. The ruling party newspaper People’s Daily defended “zero COVID,” saying it has “withstood the test of practice.”