Protests demanding an end to COVID lockdowns broke out in the center of Shanghai on Sunday, following outrage over an apartment building fire in Urumqi, Xinjiang, that killed 10 people on Thursday.
Those who perished in the fire were trapped in their apartments under strict zero-COVID lockdown measures.
After the news of the fire spread via social media, hundreds of angry Shanghai residents gathered at central Wulumuqi Road, which is named after Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region.
The Epoch Times spoke with one of the protesters, who used the pseudonym Zhengyi Dong, who took to the streets with her boyfriend on Sunday.
At Wulumuqi Road, Dong said she saw some protesters holding blank pieces of paper, some got into scuffles with police, some were beaten, and some were taken into police buses.
Dong described the scene as “shocking.”
“I was very moved. The people have been suppressed for too long. It was not fear. I felt that my blood was boiling,” she said.
Dong said there were at least 100 police at the location, and they had blocked off the road and taken down the road sign.
Videos online show protesters chanting slogans such as “Down with the Chinese Communist Party” and “Remove Xi Jinping from office.”
Before Dong left the scene at around 8 pm, she saw at least three protesters arrested. Other protesters were shouting, “release them, release them,” but to no avail, she said.
There were other reports of protesters being arrested, with some being beaten, with one witness stating that he saw one female protestor being beaten by a dozen police, reported RFI.
Other protesters estimated several dozen people were arrested. The exact number of arrests cannot be confirmed.
BBC reported that one of its reporters was arrested when interviewing protesters. The reporter was released several hours later.
By Kelly Song
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