China COVID-19 protesters face Hazmat-suited police

• Guangzhou witnesses clashes.
• There are COVID-19 protesters and hazmat-suited riot police.
• The turmoil Tuesday night follows protests in Shanghai, Beijing, and other major cities.

Guangzhou has seen clashes between COVID-19 protesters and hazmat-suited riot police.

The turmoil Tuesday night follows protests in Shanghai, Beijing, and other major cities over the government’s response to COVID-19, mainland China’s biggest wave of civil disobedience since the 1989 Tiananmen Square riots.

Social media videos showed riot cops in white hazmat suits moving along a Guangzhou street as glass shattered around them.

Screaming and shouting could be heard near orange and blue barricades.

People threw objects at police, and subsequently, almost a dozen guys were carried away with their hands shackled.

Reuters confirmed that the recordings were filmed in Haizhu, the scene of COVID-related turmoil two weeks ago, but could not ascertain when or what caused the clashes.

Chen told AFP on Wednesday that he saw 100 police officers arrest at least three guys the night before in Houjiao hamlet in Haizhu district.

Guangzhou, a port city north of Hong Kong, has been hit hard by the newest coronavirus outbreak, fueled by Omicron subvariants.

Anger over China’s zero-COVID strategy exploded last week after a fire in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, killed 10 people.

Protesters say coronavirus measures kept the victims inside the building. Officials deny it.

Freedom House’s China Dissent Monitor estimated 27 protests from Saturday to Monday. A research group predicted 43 protests in 22 cities.

Demonstrators have called for political reforms and the resignation of President Xi Jinping.

China’s top security authority called for a “crackdown” on “hostile forces” on Tuesday, but did not name reference the current protests.

COVID-19 has spread in China despite the regime isolating itself from the world and demanding sacrifices from hundreds of millions of people.

Analysts warn reopening before increasing vaccination rates might lead to massive disease and deaths and overburden China’s health system.

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