The arrest of British journalist in China is “shocking and unacceptable,” Downing Street said on Monday after a BBC journalist was detained and allegedly beaten by the police when reporting on anti-zero-COVID protests in Shanghai.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman also urged Beijing to respect Chinese people’s right to protest.
Foreign secretary James Cleverly and a number of Cabinet ministers also condemned the arrest. Security minister Tom Tugendhat said it’s an echo of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) repression and that the UK government has been reminded of the “urgent need” to defend its freedom.
The arrest of BBC journalist Edward Lawrence came after demonstrations against the CCP’s zero-COVID policy erupted in multiple cities across China, with protesters in Shanghai publicly demanding the party and its leader Xi Jinping to step down….