Protests in China: Great Britain calls in Chinese ambassador because of reporter arrest

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Arrest of a protester in Shanghai

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The arrest of a BBC reporter on the fringes of anti-government protests in Shanghai has heightened diplomatic tensions between China and Britain.

The Foreign Ministry in London has summoned the Chinese ambassador.

"We have made it clear that this behavior by the Chinese authorities is totally unacceptable," the PA news agency quoted government circles in London as saying.

The cameraman was also beaten by police officers while filming a demonstration, according to the BBC.

A spokesman for the Beijing Foreign Ministry justified the arrest by saying that the reporter did not identify himself as a journalist and did not voluntarily show his press card.

Anger and frustration at the government's zero-Covid policy had led to the largest rallies in decades in the People's Republic over the weekend.

Thousands of people took to the streets in several cities in the People’s Republic to protest against the rigorous measures – repeated lockdowns, forced quarantines, mass tests and constant monitoring of corona apps.

In the capital, Beijing, people shouted “Unlock the lockdown” and “We don't want PCR tests, we want freedom”.

These were the largest protests in China since the pro-democracy movement, which the military brutally crushed in 1989.

"Don't look away, don't forget": Hong Kong protests

The government has recently responded with an increased police presence.

The strict crackdown on the protests because of the corona conditions has raised concerns in the West.

The UN called on Beijing on Monday not to arbitrarily arrest participants in peaceful protests.

The Chinese authorities are responding to the wave of protests in several cities with heavy police presence and online censorship.

Elsewhere there were rallies.

In the Hong Kong SAR, where mass protests against the government close to Beijing took place in 2019, dozens of people gathered at the Chinese University.

"Don't look away, don't forget," chanted the demonstrators.

In Hangzhou, around 170 kilometers southwest of Shanghai, there were sporadic protests in the city center despite strict security measures, and ten people were arrested, as one participant reported.

asa/dpa