Chinese authorities have begun inquiries into some of the people who gathered at weekend protests against COVID-19 curbs, three people who were at the Beijing demonstrations told Reuters, as police remained out in numbers on the city’s streets.
In one case, a caller identifying as a police officer in the Chinese capital asked the protester to show up at a police station on Tuesday to deliver a written record of their activities on Sunday night
In another, a student was contacted by his college and asked if he had been to the area where the events took place and to provide a written account.
“We are all desperately deleting our chat history,” a Beijing protester who declined to be identified told Reuters.
“There are just too many police. The police came to check the identity of one of my friends and then took her away. We don’t know why. A few hours later, they released her.”
The Beijing Public Security Bureau did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Simmering dissatisfaction with strict COVID prevention policies three years into the pandemic sparked protests in towns thousands of miles apart over the weekend.
The biggest wave of civil disobedience in mainland China since President Xi Jinping took power a decade ago comes as the number of COVID cases hits daily highs and large parts of several cities face… new closures
COVID in China continues to spread despite the efforts of most of its 1.4 billion people to prevent transmission by adhering to a zero-COVID policy of eradicating all epidemics and maintaining strict border controls.
The lockdowns have exacerbated one of the sharpest growth slowdowns China has suffered in decades, disrupting global supply chains and financial markets.
Asian stocks rallied on Tuesday as unsubstantiated rumours swirled that the unrest could lead to an earlier easing of COVID restrictions. Similar rumours have zigzagged the markets in recent weeks.
In Hangzhou, the capital of the eastern province of Zhejiang, videos on social media which Reuters could not independently verify, showed hundreds of police occupying a large square on Monday night, preventing people from congregating.
One video showed police, surrounded by a small crowd of people holding smartphones, arresting while others tried to pull back the detained person.
In Shanghai and Beijing, police were patrolling areas where some groups on the Telegram messaging service had suggested people gather again. The police presence on Monday night ensured no gatherings took place.
“It’s really scary,” said Beijing resident Philip Qin, 22, of the large numbers of police officers on the streets.
Residents said police have been asking people passing through those areas for their phones to check if they had virtual private networks (VPNs) and the Telegram app, which has been used by protesters, residents said. VPNs are illegal for most people in China, while the Telegram app is blocked from China’s internet.
A busload of demonstrators was taken away by police during Sunday night protests in Shanghai.
The catalyst for the protests was a fire last week in the western city of Urumqi that authorities said killed 10 people.
Some internet users said COVID lockdown measures hampered the effort to rescue people in the burning building. Officials have denied that.