UN calls on China to exercise restraint & respect people's right to hold peaceful protests

As the unrest in China over the CPC's stringent 'Zero COVID' policy swelled and angry Chinese citizens demanded President Xi Jinping to step down in a rare display of dissent, the UN on Monday urged Beijing to respect people's right to peaceful protests. UN asked the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) to exercise restraint and not arbitrarily detain the demonstrators and act "in line with international human rights law."

The US, the UK, and Germany were also among several other countries who expressed support to protesters in China as they protested for democracy and freedom from the COVID-19-related clampdowns under Beijing's years-long zero COVID strategy. United Nations reminded Chinese authorities to uphold international human rights laws and not crackdown on the protesting citizens, who flooded the streets for the third consecutive night protesting against Xi Jinping's regime. 

'Down with the CCP, Down with Xi Jinping...'

"Down with the CCP, Down with Xi Jinping" demonstrators chanted on Monday as they clashed with the law enforcement authorities in hazmat suits, broke the quarantine barricades, and smashed the state surveillance cameras. Several international journalists were also "kicked and beaten" by Chinese police as they led the coverage of the anti-COVID unrest. People blasted Les Miserables song Do You Hear the People Sing? in Hangzhou, China which was previously seen at the pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong. 

UN Human Rights Office spokesman Jeremy Laurence was quoted by the agencies, as saying that no one shall be beaten or apprehended for peacefully expressing their opinions. "Following the regrettable deaths and injuries during a fire at an apartment building in China's Xinjiang province -- much of which has been under a tight Covid lockdown since August -- we stress the need for transparency in responding to public concerns, and to learn lessons from the tragedy," Laurence's statement carried by the agencies on Nov 28 read. 

European Broadcasting Union (EBU) also condemned the "volatile" unrest and crackdown on the Chinese protesters including on the news personnel covering the demonstrations. 

"The EBU condemns in the strongest terms the intolerable intimidation and aggression directed against EBU member journalists and production crews in China," it said in a statement.

US, UK others remind China of 'people's right to assemble'

US National Security Council spokesperson also said in a statement that Washington supports the right of people in China to peacefully protest and register their grievances against the regime. "We've long said everyone has the right to peacefully protest, here in the United States and around the world. This includes in the PRC (People's Republic of China)," the spokesperson said in the readout. Furthermore, he added, "We think it's going to be very difficult for the People's Republic of China to be able to contain this virus through their zero COVID strategy."

"People should be allowed... the right to assemble and to peacefully protest policies or laws or dictates... that they take issue with," White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters at a briefing. "The White House supports the right of peaceful protest."

Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told Beijing to "take notice" of the protest. "Protests against the Chinese government are rare and when they do happen I think the world should take notice, but I think the Chinese government should take notice," Cleverly noted. It was "clear," he said, that the Chinese people "are deeply unhappy ... about the restrictions imposed upon them." Protests first broke out in Beijing and Shanghai over the weekend as Chinese nationals violated the strict lockdown imposed by the authorities aimed at the containment of the rising coronavirus cases.

China's zero-COVID policy has been denounced by civilians as it severed the day-to-day functioning with a quarter of China currently under lockdown. The Zero-COVID strategy was first introduced nearly three years ago, when the city of Wuhan turned an epicentre in January 2020. Authorities are still struggling to contain the coronavirus spread as not enough people in China are vaccinated for restoration of full normalcy like in India.