What a waste of energy
Looking at the charts I can't see any clear drop: https://www.coinwarz.com/mining/bitcoin/hashrate-chart
Extrapolating that bitcoin mining escaping from china is the cause of the protests seems a little too far-fetched.
Dec 25th - Christmas (obs .worldwide) Dec 16th - Kazakhstan Independence Day
Maybe not a robust analysis, but sure seems like events in Kazakhstan can have an impact on global hash rates.
The drop in may-july 2021 is significant.
What a waste of energy