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Arrest of protester in Shanghai (on November 27)
Photo: AP
The government in Beijing usually reacts very sensitively when it feels criticized from outside on supposedly domestic political issues.
This should also apply to dealing with the current protests against the corona regulations in the country, which are being answered with a tough police operation.
This strict crackdown by the Chinese authorities has raised concerns in the West.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier underlined the importance of freedom of expression.
"Freedom of expression is an important asset," he told Deutsche Welle.
He therefore hopes that the state authorities in China will respect this right.
In view of the strict corona restrictions in China, he “understands that people are showing their impatience on the streets”.
The White House said President Joe Biden was "closely monitoring" the unrest in China.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, "People should be allowed freedom of assembly and peaceful protest." USA and anywhere in the world.
This also applies to the People's Republic of China.«
Anger at the strict zero-Covid policy in China had erupted in nationwide protests in the past few days.
The trigger was a house fire that killed ten people in the north-western Chinese region of Xinjiang.
The accident initially led to protests in the region itself.
On the Internet, many users blamed the strict corona measures for the slow rescue of the residents.
Over the weekend, protests spread to several major cities across the country, including Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan.
Demonstrators also gathered at several universities.
They demand an end to the lockdowns, but also more political freedoms.
There hasn't been a comparable wave of protests since the suppression of pro-democracy rallies in 1989.
Entries about protests will be deleted
The UN called on the Chinese authorities to react to the protests “in accordance with international human rights”.
"Nobody should be arbitrarily arrested for peacefully expressing their opinions," said Jeremy Laurence, spokesman for the UN human rights office.
In Beijing and Shanghai, a large number of security forces were on the streets on Monday after renewed protests were called for on the Internet.
A planned rally in the capital failed because dozens of police officers with vehicles blocked an intersection near the meeting point.
In Shanghai, too, barriers along the sidewalks should prevent citizens from starting new protests.
An AFP journalist saw three people being arrested by police.
The authorities also apparently deleted all reports of the protests in Chinese online networks.
Search terms for central locations of the protests have been removed from the online platform Weibo.
Videos from the online service WeChat also disappeared.
Attacks on members of the press
In the course of the protests, journalists reporting on the demonstrations were apparently also targeted by the authorities.
The European Broadcasting Union EBU spoke on Monday of "unacceptable" intimidation of journalists in China.
According to the British broadcaster BBC, one of his reporters was arrested in Shanghai on Sunday and beaten and kicked in custody.
He was later released.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has warned that China is a "systemic challenge" to the UK's "values and interests".
This challenge is compounded by growing authoritarianism in China.
London needs to "change its attitude towards China," Sunak said.
China is the last major economy to adopt an ultra-strict zero-Covid policy.
Even small corona outbreaks can lead to lockdowns and even entire cities.
On Monday, the authorities relaxed at least some measures in the Xinjiang region.
Beijing, meanwhile, defended its pandemic policy.
The fight against Covid-19 will "be successful," said a Foreign Ministry spokesman.
He accused "forces with ulterior motives" of having linked the devastating fire with the corona measures.
jok/AFP