NO EXCUSE FOR CHINESE POLICE BEATING JOURNALISTS -UK MINISTER

Tue 29 November 2022:

British business minister Grant Shapps said on Monday there was no excuse for media covering protests to be beaten by police, after the BBC said Chinese police had assaulted and detained one of its journalists in Shanghai.

“There can be absolutely no excuse whatsoever for journalists who are simply covering the protests going on, for being beaten by the police. I know that’s a considerable concern,” Shapps told Sky News.

Hundreds of people took to the streets in China’s major cities on Sunday in a rare outpouring of public anger against the state.

“The BBC is extremely concerned about the treatment of our journalist Ed Lawrence, who was arrested and handcuffed while covering the protests in Shanghai,” the broadcaster said in a statement.

Lawrence, working in the country as an accredited journalist, was detained for several hours, during which time he was beaten and kicked by police, according to the BBC. He was later released.

Lawrence tweeted on Monday to thank his followers, adding he believed “at least one local national was arrested after trying to stop the police from beating me”.

“It is very worrying that one of our journalists was attacked in this way whilst carrying out his duties,” the BBC said.

“We have had no official explanation or apology from the Chinese authorities, beyond a claim by the officials who later released him that they had arrested him for his own good in case he caught Covid from the crowd,” the statement added.

“We do not consider this a credible explanation.”

China’s foreign ministry said Monday that Lawrence had not identified himself as a journalist.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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