"I can still use GPG" isn't a win condition you seem to think it is. Authoritarian governments will be perfectly happy to let you continue using GPG as long as the remaining 99% of society continues using monitored/censored communication apps.
VPN's provide privacy by blending your traffic with others. If you stand out...
It's not your cat videos they're interested in. When people are protesting against the government it's vitally important that they're able to get information out as quickly as possible, to as many people as possible. If the government can slow that momentum down then opposition fizzles out. Chat Control would do a great job in service of that goal, it's large scale crowd control, not a targeted attack.