The anti-covid protesters in China who have disappeared

With China declaring victory over the pandemic, the historic november protests that led to the end of zero covid rules have begun to fade from memory.

But as the country moved forward, many of those who participated in the demonstrations they began to disappeararrested by the authorities amid a silent crackdown on dissidents that only deepens.

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Thousands demonstrated against restrictive covid policies by showing blank sheets in the dark during calls white paper protests. It was a very rare display of criticism of the ruling Chinese Communist Party and its leader Xi Jinping.

At the time, few arrests were made by the police. Now, months later, Chinese activists say that Dozens of those protesters are in police custody..

One group estimates that there has been more than 100 arrests.

International rights groups and foreign universities have called for his release. And activist groups have published lists with the names of the alleged detainees. This includes those who protested in Beijing and in other cities such as Shanghai, Guangzhou and Nanjing.

Chinese authorities have not responded to inquiries about the arrests. But through interviews with friends and lawyers, the BBC was able to verify the names of 12 people arrested in Beijing.

At least five of them have been released on bail. Among those still in custody, four women – Cao Zhixin, Li Siqi, Li Yuanjing and Zhai Dengrui – have been formally arrested for “stirring fights and trouble”.

This is a notoriously vague charge that carries a maximum sentence of five years, and critics say it is often used to stifle dissent.

‘They are not activists’

Many of those arrested are well educated (some attended UK and US universities) and include writers, journalists, a musician, a teacher and a financial industry professional.

Most of the Beijing detainees were part of an informal network of friends who shared a love of the arts and who often met for book clubs, film screenings and discussions. Many of them were women.

The police have reportedly questioned them about theiri were feminists or were involved in “feminist activities”. Chinese authorities have increasingly cracked down or censored women’s rights activists in recent years.

Although the group was socially conscious and some members had shown support for #MeToo figure Xianzi, they were not activists, their friends insisted.

“They are just a group of young people concerned about society… my friend is interested not only in women’s rights, but also in human rights and the rights of the vulnerable. This has nothing to do with activities related to feminism “Said the friend of one of the detainees.

On November 27, several women from the group joined a public vigil at the Liangma River in Beijing.

The event was one of many held spontaneously across China that night to mourn the victims of an event that shocked China, the fire in an apartment in Urumqi; Many believed the victims were unable to escape due to Covid restrictions, although this was disputed by authorities.

The vigil turned into a peaceful protest, with people holding up blank pieces of paper that became a symbol of their frustration.

“The environment has been so oppressive for so long. They didn’t think they were participating in a movement when they went to the demonstration. They thought it was just a way to vent their emotionssaid another friend.

“They didn’t clash with the police or express radical views. So they didn’t think it was serious.”

The protest in Belgium began as a vigil for the victims of a fire. (GETTY IMAGES).

So much so, that his friends say they did little to protect their identities, given how quickly China has been known to silence protests.

facial recognition

It is not clear what led the police to this particular group of friends, but according to reports, they tracked protesters using surveillance cameras and facial recognition software, and searched the phones of those arrested.

One of the detainees created a Telegram group that expanded from a few members to more than 60. And many of them used phone numbers registered under their real names. Two days later, some of them were questioned by the police.

“We were talking on the phone when they were taking her away,” said the boyfriend of one detainee. “She told me that they had taken some of her friends and they had lost contact. She was trying to delete things from her cell phone. They took her before she finished deleting things.”

Arrests appeared to accelerate during December and January as, one by one, more members of the group of friends were detained, activists say.

Cao Zhixin, in anticipation of her arrest, sent her friends a video of her speaking into the camera. She came with instructions to post it online in case of her disappearance.

“What we did was express our feelings in a reasonable way,” Cao said in the clip, which has now gone viral. We don’t want to disappear… if attending a mourning event is a crime, how much space is left to share our feelings?”.

concern and condemnation

Several human rights groups and educational institutions are now calling for his release in a sign of growing international concern. Britain’s Goldsmiths University confirmed to the BBC that Li Siqi was a former student and said they were “deeply concerned” for her well-being.

“C”We condemn in the strongest terms the suppression of free speech and we urge the Chinese authorities to immediately release all those detained in connection with the vigil,” a Goldsmiths spokeswoman said.

He added that the head of the university had written to the Chinese ambassador to the UK, Zheng Zeguang. The Chinese embassy has not yet responded to the BBC’s inquiries.

The University of Chicago and the University of New South Wales (UNSW) also confirmed that among those arrested were their former students. A UNSW statement to the BBC called for the matter to be resolved with “due respect for legal principles and for universal human rights”.

Reporters Without Borders noted that four of the detainees, including Li Siqi, were journalistscalling their arrests “yet another chilling message to those who believe that factual information should be reported even when it contradicts the official narrative.”

Human Rights Watch said the incident showed that “young people in China are paying a heavy price for daring to speak out for freedom and human rights,” adding that Chinese authorities have threatened lawyers and friends who have tried to support detainees.

killing the chicken

Observers believe that the authorities want to send a signal with the arrests, or what human rights activist Teng Biao calls “kill the chicken to scare the monkeys”.

“They want to catch who they think are the leaders and organizers, and those who play a leading role will be severely punished,” he said, adding that the Chinese authorities’ instinct will be to find out if “hostile Western forces” were behind the attacks. protests.

The fact that a significant number of those detained are women, and have reportedly been questioned about their support for feminist causes, also underscores the mistrust of officials in the women’s rights movement.

In recent years, China has been plagued by several high-profile cases involving female victims of sexual violence and assault. These have provoked unusually harsh criticism of the authorities and generated support for women’s rights.

But as the movement has grown, the government response has hardened.

In 2015, she cracked down on a group of women known as the Feminist Five, and since then, activists say they have been increasingly censored and attacked online. An arm of the Chinese Communist Party recently condemned “extreme feminism” as a “malignant growth.”

“Maintaining ‘social harmony’ has always been the government’s top priority, and women’s movements have always been seen as a threat to the stability of the entire political system,” said Altman Peng, an assistant professor at the University of Warwick who studies the Power relations between genders in the Asian giant.

Activists hope that increased international condemnation will help reduce cases of abuse. (GETTY IMAGES).

It is unclear what awaits the protesters.

Those who are out on bail they can still be charged. Those who remain in custody could be detained for several weeks while prosecutors decide whether to charge them, but that could take months, if not years, in political cases, according to Teng.

Until now, their families have remained silent and some have cut off contact with friends of the detainees. The BBC learned that one of the families had fired one of the lawyers they had hired to fight her daughter’s case, although it is not clear why.

Families of detainees likely to remain silent given the immense pressure they are under, says veteran rights activist Yang Zhanqing.

“Police have a punish-reward approach. Families were told by authorities that those arrested would be released early if they kept quiet. If they didn’t comply, they would lose their jobs and pension.”

But increased international scrutiny of detentions can also help detainees. In these politically sensitive cases, detainees may be released early or receive better treatment in jail due to outside pressure, Yang says.

Meanwhile, friends of the detainees, anxious and concerned for their own personal safety, continue to monitor the situation and share information with each other.

Many live abroad and did not attend the November protests, but they fear they could be targeted anyway because of their association with the detainees and his attempts to raise international awareness of the plight of his friends.

Recently, a message from one of the detainees circulated, transmitted from the prison. He tried to reassure his friends, making it clear that the detainees were keeping their spirits up.

“[Nuestros interrogadores] They keep making us feel like we are surrounded by friends who are traitors or who have betrayed us,” he said. “But I still believe that we are together”.

Some names have been withheld to protect the identity of those who fear reprisals from officials.

Source: Elcomercio