On Monday, the United Nations urged China not to arrest people simply for participating in peaceful protests, reports the AFP news agency. – We encourage the authorities to respond to protests in line with international human rights and standards. No one should be arbitrarily arrested for peacefully expressing their opinions, says spokesman Jeremy Laurence. The statement comes after there have been a number of demonstrations against the Chinese infection prevention measures at the weekend. A BBC journalist was among other things arrested by the police in connection with the weekend’s corona protests. According to the BBC, their journalist was kicked and beaten while in custody. Chinese authorities, for their part, claim that he did not identify himself during a demonstration in Shanghai. – Based on what we have learned from the authorities in Shanghai, he did not identify himself as a journalist, and he did not show the press card voluntarily, says ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on Monday. DEMONSTRATION: People are protesting against the strict infection control measures in China. Photo: Ng Han Guan / AP BBC worried A spokesperson for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday called the incident “shocking” and “unacceptable”. In a comment, he further says that the right to protest must be respected. – Journalists must be able to do their job without fear of threats, says a statement. – Regardless of what else happens, freedom of the press should be sacred, Business Minister Grant Shapps also told radio station LBC earlier on Monday. The BBC has stated that it is deeply concerned about the treatment of its journalist Ed Lawrence. The broadcaster tells The Guardian he was beaten and kicked and detained for several hours before being released. Protests spread The arrest of the journalist came in connection with demonstrations against the Chinese authorities. People are protesting against the strict infection control measures linked to covid, and the demonstrations have spread to several cities. Some have also put forward demands for democracy and freedom of the press. Reuters has, among other things, disseminated a video from the big city of Shanghai where several hundred residents took part in a demonstration. There, the participants protested against the country’s president and the Communist Party. According to The Guardian, security in Shanghai has now been strengthened following the protests. news’s Asia correspondent Phillip Lote says the demonstrations in China are primarily a dissatisfaction with the corona restrictions. – But more deeply, this is the biggest wave of civil disobedience in China under Xi Jinping’s rule. You’ve never seen anything like it before. And there is, of course, a fear on the part of the authorities that this could come to be about something other than infection control, he says. Rejected questions At a press conference with the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday, questions were asked about the demonstrations. But the ministry’s spokesman dismissed the question by saying that this did not match the “facts”. – With the help of the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and with the support of the Chinese people, we believe our fight against covid-19 will be successful, said spokesman Zhao Lijian. He also rejected the link that protesters have made between the corona restrictions and a fire in Urumqi in the western Xinjiang region, where 10 people died last week. – In social media, there are forces with hidden motives that connect this fire with the local covid-19 response, he said, according to AFP.
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