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.
"There are just too many police. Police came to check the ID of one of my friends and then took her away. We don't know why. A few hours later they released her." A health official said complaints around COVID controls were mainly about their inflexible implementation."The problems highlighted by the public are not aimed at the epidemic prevention and control itself, but focus on simplifying prevention and control measures," Cheng Youquan told reporters.
On Tuesday, shares in China and elsewhere rallied on expectations the country may be on a path towards loosening restrictions, after authorities announced plans to boost the vaccination rate among the elderly.In Hangzhou, the capital of the eastern Zhejiang province, 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.
Residents said police have been asking people passing through those areas for their phones to check if they had virtual private networks 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.The catalyst for the protests was a fire last week in the western city of Urumqi that authorities said killed 10 people.
"What is their purpose? On one hand it is to intensify internal conflicts. On the other hand, it is to see if they can completely politicize the issues around our epidemic prevention and health policies," Ren wrote in his "Chairman Rabbit" blog.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Got a weird COVID-19 symptom? You’re not alone.From COVID tongue to COVID toe, doctors have seen some bizarre cases. COVID19 COVID CovidIsntOver COVIDSymptoms
Read more »
Beijing maintains zero-COVID policies despite unprecedented protestsState media continued to praise zero-COVID measures on Monday, signaling no change in official policy.
Read more »
Investors hope Beijing will lift COVID curbs faster as protests rattle marketsRare protests rippling across China over Beijing's zero-COVID-19 policy may have unleashed a fresh wave of political uncertainty but could also hasten the reopening of the world's number two economy, foreign investors said on Monday.
Read more »
China's industrial profits drop further as COVID woes take toll on economy By Reuters*CHINA'S INDUSTRIAL PROFITS DROP FURTHER AS COVID LOCKDOWNS TAKE TOLL ON ECONOMY - 🇨🇳🇨🇳
Read more »