China is currently facing its largest anti-government protests since the Tiananmen Square massacre, as people of the country call for an end to the rule of President Xi Jinping and his Chinese Communist Party (CCP) over the nation’s strict Covid rules.
On Sunday, November 27, a video surfaced on Twitter showing a man trying to rally a group of protestors with a bunch of flowers in his hands, arrested in Shanghai.
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The video is believed to have been recorded at 3 p.m. on Sunday when a man began pacing on a crosswalk at the intersection of Urumqi Road and Anfu Road in Shanghai while holding a bouquet of flowers. He appeared to make a few comments before being whisked away by police and other plainclothes officers.
While walking across a zebra crossing with his bouquet, he appears to shout that the Chinese need to be “braver.” He then asks, “Have I broken any laws by carrying flowers?”
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After a police officer signals for him to keep moving, he does so while taking off his mask. He also stressed that he’s done nothing wrong. He also warns the police not to dare arrest him as he continue to rally the protestors.
By then a crowd was seen gathering on the street and clapping with approval. The man then declares: “Everyone, the country has slaughtered so many people. They now have no wives or jobs. We don’t have to be afraid. What’s there to fear?”
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The video then cuts to him saying “We all know a person who died. Am I right?” A number of people shared his sentiment by shouting, “right!” in response. The man is swarmed by police and dragged toward a squad car, which results in the crowd roaring in disapproval.
There also appeared to be some clashes between citizens and the police as they try to rescue him. The video ends with the man refusing to enter the squad car and members of the crowd telling demanding that the police release him.
Protests have erupted in at least seven cities after a fire broke out in the city of Urumqi, the capital of the western Xinjiang region, which many believe contributed to the deaths of ten people. The largest voices in the protests have come from Shanghai, a city that is home to 26 million residents.