CNN
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of China The vast security apparatus moved quickly to strangle mass protest has swept across the country, with police patrolling the streets, checking cell phones and even calling some protesters to warn them not to repeat the offense.
In major cities on Monday and Tuesday, police flooded the sites of protests that took place over the weekend, as thousands gathered to vent their anger over the country’s hardline no-Covid policy – a calling number more democratic and free in an extraordinary protest against Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Since then, a dense police presence has prevented protesters from gathering, while authorities in some cities have adopted surveillance tactics used in the far west of the country. Xinjiang to intimidate protesters over the weekend.
In what appeared to be the first official – albeit veiled – response to the protests, China’s chief of domestic security announced at a meeting on Tuesday to “maintain effectiveness.” result of overall social stability.”
Without mentioning the protests, Chen Wenqing called on law enforcement officials to “resolutely strike out forcefully against hostile forces’ infiltration and destructive activities, as well as violations law and criminals disrupt social order,” state news agency Xinhua reported.
Tough language could signal a strong crackdown ahead. Although protests against local grievances still occur in China, the current wave of demonstrations is the most widespread since the pro-democracy movement in Tiananmen Square in 1989. The political challenge is also unprecedented, with some protesters openly calling for Xi Jinping, the country’s most powerful leader and authoritarian leader in decades, to step down.
Some of the boldest protests took place in Shanghai, where crowds called for Xi’s removal two nights in a row. The pavement of Urumqi Road – the main protest site – was completely blocked by high barricades, making it almost impossible for crowds to gather.
A ten-minute drive away, dozens of police officers patrolled People’s Square – a large square in the city center where some residents had planned to gather with white papers and candles on Monday night. Police also waited inside a subway station there, closing all but one exit, according to one protester at the scene.
CNN did not name any of the protesters in this story to protect them from retaliation.
Protesters said he saw police checking passersby’s cellphones and asking them if they had installed a virtual private network (VPN) that could be used to bypass China’s internet firewall or apps. like Twitter and Telegram, although banned in this country. was used by the protesters.
“There are also police dogs. The whole atmosphere is chilling,” said the protester.
Protesters then decided to move their planned rally to another location, but when they arrived, the security presence was increased there, protesters said.
“There were too many policemen and we had to cancel,” he said.
On Tuesday, a wide circulation video appears to show police officers checking passengers’ cell phones on a subway train in Shanghai.
Another protester in Shanghai told CNN they were among “about 80 to 110” people in police custody on Saturday night, adding that they were released 24 hours later.
CNN was unable to independently verify the number of protesters detained and it is unclear how many, if any, remain in custody.
Protesters said detainees had their phones confiscated on buses that took them to the police station, where officers collected their fingerprints and retinal samples.
According to the protesters, police told detainees they were being taken advantage of by “malicious people who wanted to start a color revolution”, pointing out that nationwide protests broke out on the same day. is proof of that.
Protesters said police returned their phones and cameras after they were released, but police deleted photo albums and deleted the social networking app WeChat.
In Beijing, police vehicles, many parked with flashing lights, lined the eerily quiet streets on Monday morning across parts of the capital, including near Liangmaqiao in the central district. The city’s Chaoyang District, where a crowd of protesters gathered on Sunday night.
The protest, with hundreds marching down the city’s Third Ring Road, ended peacefully in the early hours of Monday under the close supervision of police officers.
But some protesters received calls from police asking about their involvement.
One protester said she received a phone call from a man who identified himself as a local police officer, asking if she had joined the protest and what she had seen there. She was also told that if there were any grievances with the authorities, she should complain to the police, rather than engaging in “illegal activities” such as protests.
“That night, the police mainly adopted a calm approach when dealing with us. But the Communist Party is very good at giving punishment then,” the protester told CNN.
She said she did not wear a mask during the protest. “I didn’t think Omicron was that scary,” she said. However, her masked friends who participated in the protest also received calls from the police, she added.
However, the protesters remained defiant. “It’s our legal right (to protest), because the constitution says we have freedom of speech and freedom of assembly,” she said.
Another protester, who has not yet received word from the police, told CNN that concern that she might be the next to be summoned weighed heavily on her mind.
“I can only seek solace by telling myself that there were so many of us who were at the protest, they couldn’t put thousands of people in jail,” she said.
Meanwhile, some universities in Beijing have arranged transportation for students to go home early during the winter break and take classes online, citing efforts to reduce Covid risks for students. members when using public transport.
But the arrangement also conveniently prevents students from gathering, following protests on a variety of campuses over the weekend, including at the prestigious Tsinghua University, where hundreds of students chanted “Democracy.” and the rule of law! Freedom of speech!”
Given the long history of student-led movements in modern China, the authorities are particularly concerned about political protests on university campuses.
Beijing universities were the source of the protests that initiated the May Fourth Movement of 1919, from which the Chinese Communist Party originated, as well as the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, was brutally suppressed by the Chinese military.
