Beijing crackdown: police arrest suspected protesters

Chinese police were on Monday afternoon detaining people they suspected of preparing for a third night of national unrest.

Chinese police were on Monday afternoon detaining people they suspected of preparing for a third night of national unrest as Xi ­Jinping’s control-obsessed regime set its formidable “stability maintenance”­ ­apparatus on the country’s biggest anti-government protests since the 1989 Tiananmen massacre.

Hours earlier, a BBC journalist was arrested, beaten and kicked by Chinese police as the protests surged into the national capital, sparking fears the ruling Communist Party would launch a harsh crackdown on city residents.

Hundreds of protesters gathered on Sunday afternoon at Tsinghua University, the prestigious institution in Beijing where President Xi studied Marxist theory.

At least another 1000 people gathered on the south bank of ­Beijing’s Liangma River, near one of the capital’s diplomatic precincts.

“We want freedom. We want human rights,” they chanted into the early hours of Monday, surrounded by a huge police presence that grew as the demonstration continued.

Police were more ­aggressive in Shanghai, where a group of protesters returned to the site of a ­Saturday night protest, ­images of which overwhelmed China’s online censorship regime.

BBC journalist Ed Lawrence was roughed up, handcuffed and detained by Shanghai police while covering the protest, which was sparked by the deaths of 10 people in a building fire in Urumqi, a city in Xinjiang province.

Authorities told the BBC they had arrested Lawrence for his own good, “in case he caught Covid from the crowd”.

This one shows that the journalist being arrested by the Shanghai police while telling his friend to “ Call the consulate now” pic.twitter.com/1PAeOFNTyx

— Shanghaishanghai (@Shanghaishang10) November 27, 2022

 “We do not consider this a credible explanation,” the BBC said.

Although he was released after several hours, the BBC said it was “extremely concerned” about his treatment, as Lawrence was in the middle of “carrying out his duties”.

Many Chinese protesters in ­cities across the country were also detained.

On Sunday night, protests also broke out in Wuhan, Chengdu and Guangzhou, three megacities in China’s centre, west and south.

Police reinforcements pic.twitter.com/qLaHc7KQQz

— David Rennie 任大伟 (@DSORennie) November 27, 2022

 They followed similar unrest on Saturday in Nanjing, China’s ­republican capital before the communists took power, and Xi’an, a former imperial Chinese capital.

Many in China have linked Thursday’s deadly building fire to Mr Xi’s signature “dynamic zero Covid” policy, which they ­believe stopped victims from ­escaping the flames, although ­Chinese authorities deny this.

The protests have since spiralled to encompass complaints about the Chinese government’s draconian Covid regime, quashing of freedom of speech and Mr Xi’s dictatorial rule.

On Sunday night, protesters brought flowers to many of the public gatherings, a token of ­respect for the victims of the fire, and held up blank pieces of paper.

释放上海市民 pic.twitter.com/3F2bCWBZHX

— Vivian Wang (@vwang3) November 27, 2022

 In a country in which posting anti-government slogans online or in public can lead to a swift ­arrest, the blank pieces of paper are a potent and popular symbol of resistance.

Most of the protesters are young urban residents, although some older citizens have joined them.

People show blank papers as a symbol of resistance during the protests. Picture: AFP.

As midnight approached on Sunday, an elderly woman joined the crowd by the Liangma river, chanting with them: “End the Beijing lockdown”, “end the China lockdown.” and “let the children go back to school”.

Authorities were already preparing to stop the national protests continuing into Monday night.

Overnight, authorities removed the street sign for Wulumqi Rd in Shanghai where the protests have been centred. The road is named after the city in Xinjiang where last week’s fire broke out.

Monday morning 5am in Shanghai: large blue barriers are being installed on Wulumuqi Road as well as nearby side streets.

I doubt many shops will be busy today. pic.twitter.com/vRzMg948qK

— Christian Petersen-Clausen (@chris__pc) November 27, 2022

 Early on Monday morning, authorities had erected massive blue barriers along the street.

Experts in Chinese politics warned the Communist Party would respond to the public outcry with a harsh crackdown.

“No matter what happens to zero-Covid, political control can only tighten in the months ahead,” said Taisu Zhang, a professor of law at Yale Law School and an ­expert on contemporary Chinese law and politics.

“If the government doubles down on zero-Covid, then obviously it needs to shut down the protests without giving in.

“If, however … it decides to open up as a compromise, then that will also paradoxically require more tightening, both to avoid showing weakness and to deal with the inevitable social anxiety over significant virus spread. ­Either way, this will be a hard winter, politically and economically.”