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The Chinese authorities began investigations into the people who would have participated in the protests, which began with the strict measures against Covid-19 and extended to calls for the resignation of President Xi Jinping. At least four people have been detained and hundreds questioned. Meanwhile, infections by the virus increase and the Government announced a new vaccination campaign.
China is rushing to break down the protests and arrest those alleged to have participated in the biggest wave of civil disobedience since President Xi Jinping took power a decade ago.
The Police began a series of investigations and interrogations and at least four people have been arrested. Some were called to testify at police stations and others, by telephone.
“We are all desperately deleting our chat history,” said one of those questioned who witnessed the Beijing protest and declined to be named. The source assured that the officers asked him how he found out about the mobilization and what was his reason for attending.
In the country’s capital, a protester told AFP that she and five of her friends who attended a protest received calls from officers demanding information about their movements.
It is still not clear how the authorities would have tracked the people they called to testify, nor is the exact number of those questioned known.
A spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs limited himself to pointing out that the rights and freedoms must be exercised “within the framework of the law.”
“Atmosphere is disturbing”
Videos posted on social media, not yet independently verified, showed hundreds of police officers occupying a square and preventing activists from gathering, in the eastern city of Hangzhou.
In that city, an arrest was recorded by a mobile phone, after the uniformed officers surrounded a small crowd.
Similar scenes were recorded in Beijing and Shanghai, the country’s largest city and economic center.
In Shanghai, AFP reporters watched as officers detained four people, then released one. “The atmosphere tonight is disturbing. There are so many policemen around,” a witness stressed.
The uniformed officers arrived in the areas where messages broadcast on the Telegram messaging service indicated that there would be demonstrations.
But the strong surveillance and police presence prevented new crowd gatherings from Monday night, in the big cities.
“It’s very scary,” said Philip Qin, a 22-year-old Beijing resident, referring to the large number of officers on the streets.
The persecution is such that residents indicated that officers ask passers-by for mobile phones to check if they have virtual private networks (VPN) and if they have used the Telegram application.
In China, VPNs are considered illegal and Telegram is blocked from the local internet system.
Some protesters told Reuters they use dating apps to meet in a bid to evade censorship and police scrutiny.
China announces new vaccination campaign
In a press conference this Tuesday, the authorities announced a new vaccination campaign for the elderly population.
Officials revealed that only 76.6% of people over the age of 80 had received two doses of the antidotes, compared to more than 90% of the general population, and only 65.8% had received a full course of three shots of immunization.
Older age groups have been much more averse to vaccination than younger people. However, authorities stressed that some people will have to start explaining why they are refusing.
Precisely, the Government points out that the low rates of inoculation among the elderly are one of the main obstacles for China to ease sanitary measures.
His strict ‘Covid zero’ policy began to generate weariness three years after the appearance of the pandemic and after recent months of new confinements.
But the fuse that triggered the unprecedented protests, in a population that for more than three years has complied with health regulations, was the fire in Xinjiang where 10 people died last week after being trapped in their apartments.
Among the measures imposed by the authorities, was the installation of doors to block access to residential complexes where infections were detected. Reason for which the activists attributed the tragedy to the harsh measures, although the Government rejects it.
In the midst of the wave of mobilizations, Beijing relaxed that rule, but insists that it will not back down from its rigid approach to control the coronavirus.
With Reuters and AFP
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