SHANGHAI: China’s top security body called for a “crackdown” against “hostile forces” on Tuesday, after a weekend of protests in major cities opposing Covid lockdowns and demanding greater political freedoms.

The stark warning from China’s body came after security services were out in force across China following demonstrations not seen in decades, as anger over unrelenting lockdowns fuelled deep-rooted frustration with the political system.

A deadly fire last week in Urumqi, the capital of the north-western region of Xinjiang, was the catalyst for the outrage, with protesters taking to the streets in cities around China.

The demonstrators said Covid-19 restrictions were to blame for hampering rescue efforts in Urumqi, claims the government swiftly denied.

UK summons Chinese envoy after arrest of BBC journalist

On Tuesday, the ruling Communist Party’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission called for a “crackdown” on what it described as “hostile forces”.

The body, which oversees all domestic law enforcement in China, also agreed at its meeting that it was time to “crack down on illegal criminal acts that disrupt social order” as well as “safeguard overall social stability”. The warning came after a heavy police presence across cities on Monday and Tuesday appeared to have quelled protests for the time being.

Chinese authorities have also begun inquiries into some of the people who gathered at weekend protests, people who were at the Beijing demonstrations told Reuters, as police remained out in numbers on the city’s streets.

Two protesters said that callers identifying themselves as Beijing police officers asked them to report to a police station on Tuesday with written accounts of their activities on Sunday night.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US position was “the same everywhere”, and that was to “support the right of people everywhere, to peacefully protest to make known their views, their concerns, and their frustrations”.

UK summons China envoy

Britain summoned the Chinese ambassador in London for a rebuke after the arrest and alleged assault of a BBC journalist covering Covid protests.

Zheng Zeguang was called in to the foreign office after the incident involving Ed Lawrence in Shanghai, which Foreign Secretary James Cleverly had called “deeply disturbing”.

“It is incredibly important that we protect media freedom,” Cleverly said.

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2022