Chinese authorities in the central province of Henan are urging residents to remain calm after a woman’s killing prompted crowds to clash with local police.
(Bloomberg) — Chinese authorities in the central province of Henan are urging residents to remain calm after a woman’s killing prompted crowds to clash with local police.
Anger over the handling of the case led dozens of people to gather around a police vehicle in Hua county Monday, breaking windows and attempting to flip it, according to videos circulating online. Officers were seen chasing residents through the streets with batons and pepper spray.
Prosecutors approved the arrest of the woman’s husband in connection with her death, a task force appointed to address the matter said in a statement Monday. The government was “trying to pacify sentiments and resolve conflicts,” the task force said, accusing a “few internet users” of spreading disinformation online.
Social media users who posted some of the more widely-circulated videos didn’t respond to requests for comment Tuesday. It wasn’t immediately clear how widespread the protests were or whether they would continue.
While Chinese residents occasionally take to the streets to voice their discontent against local decisions, such incidents have attracted greater scrutiny in the wake of demonstrations late last year against President Xi Jinping’s Covid-control policy. Subsequent protests against everything from fireworks bans to health insurance reforms have prompted speculation that citizens are growing more willing to challenge authority in the one-party state.
The issue of the abuse of women has been the subject of particularly intense public debate in recent months. That included widespread outrage over the case of a mother of eight who was found chained in a hut in Jiangsu and a group of female diners beaten by men in a restaurant in Hebei.
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