As China Loosens COVID-19 Restrictions, Protesters Fear Retribution

As China Loosens COVID-19 Restrictions, Protesters Fear Retribution
People hold white sheets of paper in protest of COVID-19 restrictions in Beijing on Nov. 27, 2022. Thomas Peter/Reuters
Reuters
Updated:

BEIJING/HONG KONG—Late last month, Shanghai resident Pei was one of many people who came out in support of historic protests against China’s COVID-19 curbs, including filming several seconds of footage of a man being arrested on a street corner.

Almost immediately, Pei said, five or six plainclothes police grabbed him. He was taken to a police station and held for 20 hours, at times with his arms and legs tied to a chair, he told Reuters.