BBC Journalist Handcuffed, Arrested and Beaten up in China

 

 

A journalist of the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) was arrested, handcuffed, and beaten up China while he was covering an anti-Covid restriction protest in Shanghai.

BBC has expressed concern over this mistreatment of its journalist Ed Lawrence in China. According to BBC authorities Lawrence was held for several hours before being released. During his arrest, he was beaten and kicked by the police. Lawrence is an accredited journalist of the BBC.

Till now no official explanation or apology from the Chinese authorities regarding the incident has reached the BBC.

Meanwhile, huge protests continue across many cities in China by people expressing displeasure against the zero-Covid policy. Some protestors are also shouting “Step down, Xi Jinping! Step down, Communist Party,” according to a CNN report.

This large-scale protest was apparently sparked by an apartment block fire in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang province, which killed at least 10 people on Thursday.

Such protests are rare in China. Usually, the ruling Communist Party tramples down on all forms of dissent in the country.