The protests started when news spread late last week that ten people had died in a fire in Xinjiang. A new record of corona infections was reported in China on Monday, 40,052 infections.
The protests that turned into weekend clashes with the police in Shanghai seem to have largely calmed down. However, the police have arrested at least two people, reports the news agency AFP.
The arrests were made near the place where there were large demonstrations against China’s tough corona policy on Sunday. Protesters even shouted down the Chinese Communist Party and its leader Xi Jinping against slogans, which is really rare in China.
According to AFP, the police have forbidden gathering and taking pictures at the site of Sunday’s demonstration. Several arrests were also made on Sunday.
A BBC reporter was assaulted
On Sunday, the police also arrested and assaulted a journalist from the British broadcasting company BBC, who was following the protests. The police are said to have been set up by the reporter by Edward Lawrence in handcuffs and abused him by punching and kicking him during the arrest.
According to the BBC, he was released a few hours after his arrest.
In Beijing, white flags were waved late into the night
In Beijing, a peaceful demonstration against the corona restrictions continued late into the night on Sunday.
People waved white placards, which have become a symbol of protests.
– We don’t want covid tests, we want freedom, shouted at the demonstration.
On Monday, a new record number of corona infections was reported in China, 40,052 infections.
The protests began when news spread late last week of the death of ten people in a fire in Xinjiang’s provincial capital, Ürümqi. Corona restrictions are suspected to have influenced the deaths.
The so-called “zero line”, which has been going on for three years, where areas are isolated and people’s movement and freedoms are restricted, is testing people’s patience in an unprecedented way.