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Protests against strict COVID restrictions have raged across China – as a British journalist was beaten and kicked by police.
However, there were clashes between protesters and police in Shanghai on Sunday night Only a few hours earlier it had been forcibly removed by the police using pepper spray.
It marked the third night of chaos that has spread to some of the country’s major cities, including Wuhan, the first epicenter of the coronavirus nearly three years ago.
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On Sunday night, the BBC said one of its reporters, Ed Lawrence, was working as an “accredited journalist” when he was “beaten and kicked by police” while covering the protests.
Footage on social media showed him being dragged to the ground in handcuffs, while another video showed him saying: “Call the consulate now.”
According to officials, Mr Lawrence was arrested “for his own good” in case he caught coronavirus from the crowd, but the BBC said it was “extremely concerned” about his treatment, adding: “We do not consider this a credible explanation.”
a A Sky News team in Shanghai saw police move swiftly and decisively, forcing protesters to try to disperse them, but the crowd did not leave.
They saw several people being arrested by police on the streets of Shanghai on Monday morning.
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Sky News Shanghai witnesses the protests
During the protest President Xi Jinping‘s zero-COVID lockdown policy has spread beyond the Far East, with 100 to 300 people gathering outside the Chinese embassy in London.
A woman from a group called China Deviants told Sky News they decided to express their anger against President Xi’s regime because “people are being oppressed in China”.
She added: “We have been oppressed for years, decades, and we want to change that. We need to stand up against this authoritarian regime.”
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She said, like many of her fellow countrymen and women in China, her anger boiled over after a fire broke out in the city of Urumqi on Thursday. At least 10 people were killed.
The city has been under strict lockdown for more than three months to fight the spread of the coronavirus under China’s “zero-COVID” policy.
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Videos on social media showed water arcing from a distant fire truck dousing the flames, prompting waves of angry comments online. Some said the fire engines were blocked by epidemic control barriers or by stranded cars after their owners were placed in quarantine, but this has not been verified.
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The woman, who covered her face for fear of punishment, said: “It sparked outrage. We stand to speak out for those people. We stand for justice.
“We want to speak, and we want people to listen.”
China Deviants is a non-profit group and calls on others to join them to “reject the dictatorship”.
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Sky’s Dominic Waghorn assesses the protests that have swept through several Chinese cities
A statement from the group said: “We are committed to awakening the Chinese people against the dictator, to make the Chinese people and the international community realize that: an unelected government cannot represent the voice of the Chinese people.
“We need democracy and freedom, and we reject dictatorship.”
As the protesters returned to Shanghai, Amnesty International described their action as “remarkable bravery”.
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Lockdown frustration grows in central China
China is following its strict zero-COVID policy, while much of the world tries to coexist with Covid. Corona virus.
The fifth consecutive daily record 40,347 new ones were registered in the country COVID-19 Sunday infection.
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