Masses Clashes With Police In Shaanxi China Over The Death Of Odd Students Who Trigger Public Anger

UNSPLASH/Tahah ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - A group of people clashed with police in China's Shaanxi province. This clash is related to protests over the incident of a student who died in early January.

Reuters verified a number of videos on social media platform X, the clashes took place on the new campus of the Pucheng Regency Vocational Education Center. The date of the incident cannot be ascertained from the video.

Two videos show dozens of police officers wearing antihuru-hara gear withdrawing from an angry crowd and throwing sticks and other objects at them.

In another footage, several police officers rushed to arrest a woman, while another police officer who was a few meters away repeatedly hit a man with a knife when the man approached her.

The public security bureau in Weinan, the city that regulates the Pucheng region, has not yet responded to confirmation of the video.

Previously, the Pucheng authorities said in a statement on January 5 that a student surnamed Dang died on the campus of the Pucheng Regency Vocational Education Center after falling from the building.

The joint investigative team set up for the case puts aside crimes and tells students' families about their conclusions.

Dang was found dead by another student at 3 am on January 2, according to an investigation team statement.

Dang had an argument with other students the night before.

Public security authorities conducted on-site investigations, reviewed surveillance footage, conducted interrogations, and conducted examinations of the bodies, the investigative team said.

New York-based Human Rights In China said the protests were caused by the death of the 17-year-old student, according to his post on X on January 7.

It said the families of students who died were prohibited from examining their children's bodies to find out about the traumatic injuries, and were told the school's surveillance system was damaged after asking to see the security footage.

The family admitted that the photos on the student's cellphone had also been deleted.

This action sparked public speculation that the school was trying to cover up the truth, the group said.

Weinan's public security bureau did not immediately respond to a request to confirm whether the protests were related to details made by China's Human Rights In.