Name: China Deploys Riot Police in an Effort to Smother COVID-19 Protests
Uploaded: 2025-01-04T21:05:50.000Z
Description: Chinese riot police in white hazmat suits clashed with people in southern China’s Guangzhou city on Tuesday night, according to online videos seen by Reuters.

NTD Newsroom comprises teams of reporters, editors, and producers assigned to cover breaking news and other stories.


NTD Newsroom

NTD Plus

News

News you can trust from the U.S. and around the world. Critical information and insight. We cover the stories that others don’t. NTD News Today airs Monday–Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

NTD News Today

Pentagon Scraps Deployment of 4,000 Troops to Poland

9/11 Memorial and Museum Adds 7th Moment of Silence

AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon Launch Joint Venture to Tackle Dead Zones

Stefania Cox is an NTD News anchor and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Stefania anchors "NTD Newsroom," and co-anchors "NTD News Today" weekdays at 10:00 am ET.

Stefania Cox

Trump Committed to US Defense, Prosperity, Amid China Talks: Expert

Jerome Powell Ends Tenure as Fed Chair

US Government Sues Chick-fil-A Over Religious Rights

California Gubernatorial Candidates Make Closing Pitches to Voters 

House Passes 1st Fiscal Year 2027 Appropriations Bill

Jason Blair is a national correspondent for NTD News based in California. 

Jason Blair

Federal Judge Partly Blocks Texas Immigration Law

Trump Announces National Garden of American Heroes Plans

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 15)

Paul Greaney is an NTD news anchor and producer. Since joining the company in 2018, he has anchored the station’s flagship Evening News broadcast, launched the NTD Business show, and produced documentary reports on pointed issues. 

The highlight of Paul’s time in the field was his coverage of the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests in 2019.

Paul Greaney

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 14)

Kevin Hogan is an NTD News data reporter and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Kevin covers breaking news, as well as U.S. and global current events. He conveys the news through data visualizations and investigates pressing issues.

Kevin Hogan

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 13)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 12)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 11)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 8)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 7)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 6)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 5)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 4)

Fast, compelling, first-hand news from China. China in Focus airs Monday–Friday at 8 p.m. ET.

China in Focus

China Sends Warships to Pacific Drill as Tensions With Japan Rise

Reuters is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages.

Reuters

We present news that is truthful and based on facts, outside of the political fog. Instead of focusing on the negative things happening around us, our mission is to give our viewers a good morning with empathetic and uplifting stories. Our aim is to provide an antidote to negativity by shining a light on the best side of people. We speak to inspiring people who positively impact communities, pursue topics that represent our common human values, and will never miss an opportunity to bring you heartwarming stories.

NTD Good Morning

2 US Embassy Personnel Assigned to Cartel Case Killed in Car Accident

The Associated Press is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. 

The Associated Press

US News

Gunman Kills 8 Children, Including 7 of His Own, in Louisiana Mass Shooting

Flora Hua is a reporter based at NTD's global headquarters in New York City, where she covers China news, U.S.-China relations, and human rights issues. Flora primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus."  

Flora Hua

Trump: Seized Iranian Ship May Have ‘A Gift From China’

Joseph Lord is a congressional reporter for The Epoch Times.


Joseph Lord

Aldgra Fredly is a freelance writer covering U.S. and Asia Pacific news for The Epoch Times.

Aldgra Fredly

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani Hospitalized in Critical Condition: Spokesman

Wildfires Across Georgia and Florida Have Destroyed Nearly 50 Homes and Are Forcing Evacuations

US Warns of China Hacks via Routers, Smart Devices

Juliet Song is an international correspondent exclusively covering China news for NTD. She primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus," covering U.S.-China relations, the Chinese regime's human rights abuses, and domestic unrest inside China.

Juliet Song

2 Americans Among Suspected Communist Rebels Killed in Clashes With Troops, Philippine Officials Say

Ryan Morgan is a reporter for The Epoch Times focusing on military and foreign affairs. He was previously a news writer for NTD. 


Ryan Morgan

Mari Otsu is NTD's White House correspondent based in Washington. 

Mari Otsu

World News

Middle East

Iran

3 US Warships Fend Off Iranian Attacks, Trump Says Ceasefire Still Holds

Health News

3 Dead in Suspected Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise Ship in Atlantic Ocean: WHO

Chinese riot police in white hazmat suits clashed with people in southern China’s Guangzhou city on Tuesday night, according to online videos seen by Reuters.

In one Twitter video, dozens of riot police holding shields advanced in formation over what looked like torn-down lockdown barriers, while objects were thrown in their direction. Later, police were seen escorting people in handcuffs away from the site.

Another video showed people throwing objects at the police. Finally, a third video showed people running away after a tear gas canister landed among them and spewed fumes.

The videos were filmed in Guangzhou’s Haizhu district, <a href="https://archive.ph/oPlHD">Reuters stated</a>, but the news agency could not determine the sequence of events or what might have sparked the clashes.

Social media posts said the clashes were sparked over local lockdown restrictions, according to Reuters.

Haizhu District was the site of a major protest in mid-November, when over 1,000 residents <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/anti-lockdown-protests-break-out-in-chinas-southern-guangzhou-city_4869000.html">took to the streets</a> in protest against prolonged local lockdown measures. They wanted greater access to food, essential supplies, and medical treatment.

Protests broke out across China over the weekend, driven in part by anger over a horrific fire in China’s far-western Xinjiang region that <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/huge-protests-erupt-in-chinas-xinjiang-over-strict-zero-covid-curbs_4886950.html">killed an officially reported 10 people</a>. Local COVID-19 restrictions apparently prevented residents from escaping the fire and delayed first responders from reaching the scene.

The bigger reason behind the protests has been mounting public discontent over the Chinese communist regime’s unrelenting zero-COVID policy, which subjects people to repeated testing and confinement to their homes.

Protesters used the rallies to call for greater freedoms, while some <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/protests-in-shanghai-and-beijing-as-anger-over-chinas-covid-19-curbs-mounts_4887874.html">demanded</a> that Chinese leader Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) step down.

Since the deadly fire, there have been 43 public protests across 22 cities in China, <a href="https://twitter.com/Nrg8000/status/1597531461980422144">according to</a> a tally by Nathan Ruser, a researcher at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

People hold white sheets of paper in protest in Beijing on Nov. 27, 2022. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)


<h2><b>Suppression</b></h2>
In the face of the largest display of civil disobedience Communist Party leaders in Beijing have seen in decades, Chinese officials have begun <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/chinese-authorities-start-tracking-down-protestors-after-mass-covid-demonstrations_4892403.html">tracking down protesters</a>, and even arresting them.

"One of my friends who posted a video of people calling for Xi to step down was taken away by police last night," a Beijing resident who asked not to be identified told Reuters.

“Other friends who posted similar videos had to go to the police station. Most were kept for a few hours and asked to sign a paper promising they won’t do that again. And most have now deleted their posts."

On Monday, a protester in Beijing who asked not to be named for her safety <a href="https://www.thaipbsworld.com/china-moves-to-curb-rare-nationwide-protests/">told</a> AFP that she and five of her friends had been contacted by local police.

“He said my name and asked me whether I went to the Liangma river last night… he asked very specifically how many people were there, what time I went, how I heard about it,” the protester said.

At least 1,000 people, separated into two groups, <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_app/white-house-responds-after-protests-erupt-across-china-over-zero-covid-rules_4888307.html">gathered</a> along Beijing’s 3rd Ring Road near the Liangma river in the early hours of Monday.

“We don’t want masks, we want freedom. We don’t want COVID tests, we want freedom,” one of the groups chanted, according to Reuters.

The Chinese regime’s top law enforcement body, the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, issued a statement on Tuesday warning of so-called “hostile forces,” following a meeting presided over by its party secretary Chen Wenqing.

“The meeting emphasized that political and legal organs must take effective measures to … resolutely safeguard national security and social stability,” the statement said, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-china-beijing-shanghai-covid-9a702c3794b5beaa13608484b8397e6d">according to</a> The Associated Press.

“We must resolutely crack down on infiltration and sabotage activities by hostile forces in accordance with the law, resolutely crack down on illegal and criminal acts that disrupt social order and effectively maintain overall social stability,” it said.

While the statement didn’t refer to the protests, Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of China’s hawkish state-run outlet Global Times, <a href="https://twitter.com/HuXijin_GT/status/1597643552086888448">took</a> to Twitter to say it was a warning against protesters.

“The Chinese officials used implicit language, but they also conveyed a clear message of warning,” Hu wrote. “The protesters must have understood it. If they repeat those protests, the risks will increase severely.”

A man is arrested while people gather on a street in Shanghai to protest on Nov. 27, 2022. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)


<h2><b>Concerns</b></h2>
Lawmakers from around the world <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/global-lawmakers-express-solidarity-with-chinese-protesters-as-ccp-diplomat-signals-regime-will-persist-with-zero-covid_4891733.html">have expressed</a> their solidarity with the protesters in China.

Meanwhile, rights groups have called on Chinese authorities to respect the right to peacefully protest.

“Instead of penalising the people, the government should listen to their calls. Authorities must let people express their thoughts freely and protest peacefully without fear of retaliation,” said Hana Young, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director, in a <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/11/china-lockdown-protests-covid/">statement</a> released on Nov. 27.

“The Chinese government must immediately review its Covid-19 policies to ensure that they are proportionate and time-bound,” Young added. “All quarantine measures that pose threats to personal safety and unnecessarily restrict freedom of movement must be suspended.

“The government also needs to promptly, effectively and thoroughly investigate the Urumqi fire, to avoid a reoccurrence, bring justice to the victims and their families, and show the people they are responsive to their grievances.”

<em>From <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/china-deploys-riot-police-in-an-effort-to-smother-covid-19-protests_4894528.html">The Epoch Times</a></em>

China News

china

Videos

protests

04_Top Stories

Guangzhou

Latest Clips

lockdown

COVID-19

Management

Frank Fang is a Taiwan-based journalist. He covers U.S., China, and Taiwan news. He holds a master's degree in materials science from Tsinghua University in Taiwan.

Frank Fang

Jessica Beatty

Latest and breaking news, documentaries, movies, and lifestyle content on NTD+.
 
Empower your knowledge and elevate your spirit with NTD+, your go-to destination for truthful news, insightful documentaries, and captivating lifestyle content that enriches your life.