The organization Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) denounced this Tuesday the arrest of more than 20 people who participated, on November 27, in protests against the Covid zero policy, in Beijing.
The arrests occurred during the months of December and January, under the charge of “disturbing public order”, according to an announcement made by the organization for the defense of human rights through the social network Twitter.
Among the detainees there are journalists, artists, writers or teachers, denounced the same source.
“We stayed at the police station for 24 hours until they released us. But just when we thought the matter was settled, on December 18, the police started arresting people. At least four of my friends disappeared. Their mothers are looking for them because they want to know where they were taken,” denounced Zhi Xin, a young woman who participated in the protests, quoted by the organization.
Widespread popular discontent across China over the zero-COVID policy led to peaceful protests and vigils in cities including Beijing and Shanghai in late November. The protesters expressed their repudiation of the restrictions then in force and showed blank sheets of paper, in a criticism of the censorship in force in the press and social networks in the country.
The protests erupted after the death of 10 people in a fire in a blocked building in the northwestern Chinese city of Urumqi. In addition to showing their discontent with the zero covid policy, the protesters demanded the resignation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Some netizens also posted texts on the WeChat social network that consisted solely of words such as “good,” “yes” or “okay,” protesting the systematic removal of content critical of the authorities’ actions.
The authorities reacted by increasing police deployments and isolating the areas where the protests were taking place. Since then, some testimonies on social networks have denounced the arrest of protesters.
Shortly after the protests, the authorities began to dismantle the Covid zero policy, leading to an unprecedented wave of infections and a public health crisis in the country.
Source: TSF
