Videos have emerged on social media revealing the violent response Chinese authorities are taking against residents who break COVID-19 lockdown rules imposed once again in Shanghai and other areas around the country.
Jennifer Zeng, a Chinese-born human rights activist and critic of the Chinese government, shared a video on Thursday showing several authorities in white hazmat-style suits wrestling with a woman clinging to a fence post.
“The police are hitting us!'” Zeng tweeted. “Woman in #Shanghai crying and shouting. Looks [like] the police are arresting people who broke the #lockdown barricades.”
After successfully prying the screaming woman away from the metal pole, the video showed the authorities then begin grappling a man who held his hands in the air. As the video continued, several residents could be heard screaming. The video showed more Shanghai authorities kneeling on another resident and holding a fourth resident’s arms behind his back.
The Globe and Mail reported that Chinese COVID lockdown measures have already spread from Shanghai to other areas around the country. Strict lockdown measures are being enforced, even in cities with relatively low numbers of infections.
Last week, Shanghai reported just over 1,000 new confirmed COVID-19 infections in a single day, out of a city of 26 million people. The city has been under lockdown since March 28.
Zeng shared another video on Monday, showing multiple separate clips of Chinese civilians clashing with authorities.
“#COVID19 prisoners/slaves in #CCPChina start to fight back,” Zeng tweeted. “#CCPVirus 我突然想起一个新词：#疫情奴隶 #疫情囚徒 反抗了。#中共病毒.”
The footage of clashes between authorities and residents in Shanghai and elsewhere in China comes amid reports residents are beginning to starve under the current lockdowns.
Last week, videos showed residents in Shanghai screaming from their balconies and even jumping from buildings in apparent acts of suicide.
Another post on Twitter showed one Shanghai resident had dragged their fridge to their apartment balcony and left the appliance’s doors open in an apparent effort to show they were out of food.
A week prior, a drone equipped with a loudspeaker appeared to fly around the city broadcasting a message for residents to stop protesting the lockdown measures. The drone reportedly broadcast a message for residents to “please comply with covid restrictions,” adding, “Control your soul’s desire for freedom. Do not open the window or sing.”
Shanghai residents have also reportedly been denied critical medical care during the lockdowns. One resident claimed on the Chinese social media site Weibo that his 77-year-old father died without ever receiving treatment for COVID-19. Radio Free Asia reported at least two more asthma patients have died in Shanghai after being refused medical attention by area hospital staff.
