Protests turn violent in China after student falls to his death

Violent protests have erupted in China after the death of a teenage boy sparked accusations of a cover-up by authorities, videos from the northwestern region of Shaanxi have shown.

One of the protesters was seen hurling a fire extinguisher at a door, shattering its glass. In response, police are seen aggressively handling the demonstrators, beating some and throwing others to the ground.

The trigger for the protests was the death of a teenage student, whose surname was Dang and was in his third year at the school. Local authorities in Pucheng have claimed Dang’s death on January 2 was an accident and not criminal, but allegations have swirled on social media that there has been a cover-up.

Chinese authorities have been particularly wary of public protests in the country following the widespread “White Paper” demonstrations in late 2022 against Beijing’s hardline policies during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement last weekend circulated by state media, local authorities claimed Dang “had a verbal and physical altercation” with a first-year student surnamed Guo over “disturbing his rest” in his dormitory. That night, a school official helped resolve the argument.

At around 3 a.m., another student in Dang’s dormitory went to the restroom, where he found a wooden stool underneath the balcony window, according to the statement.

“The sliding window was open, and the metal mesh screen has been removed. Dang had already fallen from the window to the ground below,” it said.

Human Rights In China, a US-based activist group, reported “suspicious circumstances” leading to Dang’s death, including witness reports of “signs of a struggle in Dang’s dormitory” and the suggestion that he was “pushed from the roof.”

The group said Dang’s family has rejected the official explanation of his death. The family also claimed that photos from his cell phone had been deleted, Reuters reported. The family’s skepticism has been amplified widely on social media.

It is unclear whether the protests, which began Monday, continued throughout the week.