Western Journalists Covering China Protests 'Beaten' and 'Intimidated'

Chinese police have been accused of physically assaulting and intimidating Western journalists covering the country's widespread anti-government demonstrations as they continued into the early hours of Monday.

The BBC said it was "extremely concerned" about the treatment of camera operator Ed Lawrence, who was "arrested and handcuffed" while reporting on protests in Shanghai, which erupted over China's unrelenting pandemic controls.

"He was held for several hours before being released. During his arrest, he was beaten and kicked by the police. This happened while he was working as an accredited journalist," Britain's national broadcaster said. "It is very worrying that one of our journalists was attacked in this way whilst carrying out his duties."

"We have had no official explanation or apology from the Chinese authorities, beyond a claim by the officials who later released him that they had arrested him for his own good in case he caught COVID from the crowd," the statement said. "We do not consider this a credible explanation."

Lawrence, who works for the BBC's China bureau, said in a tweet that he was detained "while doing my job." At least one Chinese national was arrested while trying to stop the arrest, he said.

Shanghai police couldn't be reached for comment, but China's Foreign Ministry said Monday that Lawrence was arrested for failing to identify himself as a member of the press. Footage of the incident showed Lawrence telling a colleague: "Call the consulate now."

Lawrence was one of at least two Western journalists who reported being obstructed by Chinese police. Michael Peuker of Swiss broadcaster RTS tweeted earlier on Sunday that officers in Shanghai interrupted him and his colleagues during a live cross to the studio.

"Obstruction, intimidation, [and] harassment" were now common experiences of the international press in China, he said.

The Foreign Correspondents' Club of China said it was "extremely disturbed by the treatment of journalists covering recent protests in Shanghai and Beijing."

"Journalists from multiple outlets were physically harassed by police while covering the unrest, and at least two journalists were detained. In one particularly alarming incident, a British journalist was seen being wrestled to the ground by multiple officers before being led away," it said in a statement on Monday.

"Under Chinese law, foreign journalists are entitled to unfettered access to report in China. In these cases, they were reporting from the streets of the very cities of which they are residents," the club said. "The FCCC is very disappointed and frustrated at the increasing barriers placed on foreign journalists operating in China and the aggression displayed towards them by police."

Peaceful demonstrations erupted across major Chinese cities on Friday after an apartment fire in Urumqi, capital of China's northwestern Xinjiang region, resulted in the deaths of 10 residents. Excessive COVID restrictions including locked doors and bollards are said to have contributed to the tragedy.

Frustrated members of the public have used the protests to demand more civil liberties, such as freedom of expression, from the government. Others called for the resignation of President Xi Jinping, who has overseen a decade-long crackdown on public dissent.

The demonstrations also spread outside China over the weekend. In London, for example, the Chinese diaspora gathered outside the Chinese embassy to air similar demands late on Sunday.

In China, residents who led the protests with their posters and camera phones dispersed in the early hours of Monday, but many may return if their complaints about the government's zero-COVID policy aren't addressed.

Returning on Monday to Shanghai's Wulumuqi Road, the street named for Xinjiang's Urumqi where protesters had gathered the day before, the BBC's Lawrence found barricades erected on sidewalks to preempt further demonstrations. Other would-be protested were quickly taken away.

A heavy police presence has descended on the city of 25 million people. Those who took photos of the site were forced to delete them under police supervision, Lawrence tweeted.

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