“While I am recording this video, four of my friends have already been kidnapped. I entrusted some of my friends with posting these pictures after I disappeared too. In other words, when you are here and watching this video, I was taken away by the police some time ago.” The chilling call, made on video, comes in the voice of a young Chinese woman who has just graduated and She is one of eight people, mostly young women and from the same background, who disappeared after taking part in a peaceful protest in Beijing on November 27.
The protest was one of those that have emerged in several Chinese cities amid the wave of discontent and revolt against the nowoverturned “zero Covid” measures.
Of the eight arrested, two have already been released, CNN confirmed, but it could not determine the whereabouts of the other six young women, including a group of five “disappeared” friends whom one of them denounced in the viral video.
Two of the women arrested, including the young woman who made the video, an editor, have been charged with “causing disturbance and disturbance” which could mean they should face trial as none have been released or released on bail would.
The authorities have declined to comment on those arrested during the protests, in keeping with the characteristic opacity of the country’s security and judicial system, and there has been no public confirmation of these or any other arrests linked to the demonstrations.
The five missing and detained friends were reportedly arrested discreetly and secretly by the police. It all came after a vigil for the 10 fire victims, whose fight sparked controversy, with some residents accusing firefighters and emergency services of being late to help due to “zero Covid” rules and measures.
Many of those, centered on the banks of the Liangma River in Beijing, displayed white sheets, which have become a symbol of the Chinese government’s repression and censorship of any popular protest or demonstration.
friends were present. In addition to the publisher, there were a reporter and a journalist, a teacher and a writer.
Some of the friends will have left before the vigil ended to get food before returning home.
In the days that followed, the process that changed his life took place. The authorities used information from telephone networks and mobile phones to identify those taking part in the protests and called them for questioning.
Members of the Circle of Friends were among those taken and saw cell phones and electronic devices being confiscated by the police.
After that, everyone seemed calm and most were released. But from December 18, the four friends and the boyfriend of one of them were gradually arrested by the authorities.
Feeling “terrified,” the editor recorded the video, and five days later she was also arrested, and a few days later her reporter friend was also arrested.
“At the vigil we followed the rules, we didn’t cause any conflict with the police. Why does this have to cost young people their lives? Why can we be taken so haphazardly? Let’s not disappear from this world without an explanation. Don’t let yourself be arrested and convicted arbitrarily,” the young woman demanded.
In addition to suppressing protests and demonstrations, the Chinese police have also repeatedly attacked feminist groups that would correspond to the arrested circle of friends.
According to lawyers heard, the fact that only part of the group has been released and none have been released on bail suggests that they will even be tried and, it seems, convicted for attending the vigil in honor of the Victims of the crime took part in the fire in Ürümqi.