Protests in China’s Shaanxi province turn violent, outrage over teenage student’s death

The alleged cover-up of a 17-year-old’s death saw brutal clashes erupt between police and protesters in China’s northwest.

Massive protests have erupted over the death of a teenager in the China’s northwest over alleged mishandling of the case by local authorities.

Footage verified by CNN shows swathes of incensed protesters swarming a group of riot police outside the Pucheng Vocational Technical School in China’s Shaanxi province.

Demonstrators are shown to hurl objects towards authorities in the video as clashes take a turn for the worse in front of the school gates.

Riot police beat protesters in violent altercations with batons as tear gas envelops the crowd.

The outrage was sparked by the death of Dang Changxin, a third-year student at the vocational school, who was found dead in the early hours of January 2.

Demonstrators are demanding further inquiry into the death of teenager Dang Changxin. Picture: Human Rights In China/X

Footage shows the clashes between protesters and police turning violent. Picture: Human Rights In China/X

In a statement posted to X on January 7, US-based activist group Human Rights In China said Dang’s parents were subsequently informed that something “urgent had happened,” though his mother was not allowed to see her son’s body upon arriving at the school.

Later that morning, authorities informed her that her son committed suicide and the investigation was closed within 24 hours, the post continued.

The non-for-profit further claimed “suspicious circumstances” lead to Dang’s death, including witness reports of “signs of a struggle in Dang’s dormitory” and the suggestion that he was “pushed from the roof”.

In a statement posted to the Pucheng county government website, investigators said that a student surnamed Dang was reportedly involved in a “verbal and physical” altercation with a roommate which was later resolved by a school official on January 1.

Dang was then found dead at the bottom of the dormitory building at 3am by another student, who also found a wooden stool under the balcony window, it continued.

The report noted that the “sliding window was open, and the metal mesh screen had been removed. Dang had already fallen from the window to the ground below.”

It added that the police had conducted investigations and an autopsy, and “at present exclude it as a criminal case”.

Human Rights In China said that Dang’s parents have rejected the official explanation.

The family claims they were told the school’s surveillance system was damaged after demanding to see security footage, and that photos from the student’s mobile phone had also been deleted,Reuters reports.

Chinese local authorities have not responded to questions from international media.

Public demonstrations are not banned in China, though authorities have worked to curtail dissent since 2022’s White Paper protests, an unprecedented wave of civil disobedience that saw rare criticism of the Chinese Communist Party and President Xi Jinping for the government’s Covid-19 policies.

Originally published as Protests in China’s Shaanxi province turn violent, outrage over teenage student’s death