Censorship concerns in China have reached boiling point as protests rage after a BBC journalist was “beaten and kicked by police” and footage showed the state broadcaster altering World Cup coverage to avoid showing mask-less crowds.
The BBC, senior UK politicians and human rights groups were this morning condemning the move by Chinese state police to arrest Reporter Ed Lawrence yesterday while he was working as an accredited journalist to cover the anti-lockdown protests, which have been taking place on and off for weeks.
Lawrence was “beaten and kicked by the police” during a several-hour-long imprisonment, according to a BBC statement. “The BBC is extremely concerned about the treatment of our journalist Ed Lawrence, who was arrested and handcuffed while covering the protests in Shanghai,” added the pubcaster.
Lawrence later shared the statement from the BBC on social media and said he understood at least one local national was arrested after trying to stop police from beating him.
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