The BBC claimed on Sunday evening that its reporter Ed Lawrence had been "arrested and handcuffed while covering protests in Shanghai".
According to a spokesperson for the British audiovisual giant, "he was beaten and beaten by the police" before being released.
"The freedom of the press and the freedom to demonstrate must be respected", "no country is exempt", reacted the British Foreign Minister, James Cleverly.
Qualifying on Twitter the arrest of Ed Lawrence as "deeply worrying", the head of British diplomacy stressed that "journalists must be able to do their job without intimidation".
Triggered by the mobilization against the confinements and the restrictions imposed by the authorities to fight against the epidemic of coronavirus, the anger which growls in China seems unprecedented since the pro-democracy demonstrations repressed in blood in 1989.
"For His Own Good"
This incident comes in a tense context between Beijing and London, against a backdrop of strong criticism from the United Kingdom, in particular on the takeover of Hong Kong by China and recent incidents on British soil.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is due to deliver his first major foreign policy speech on Monday night, arguing that the UK needs to stand up more strongly for its values of freedom and openness, especially in the face of China and Russia.
Police arrest a protester opposed to the Chinese government's "zero Covid" policy on November 27, 2022 in Shanghai Hector RETAMAL AFP
Deeming this arrest "shocking and unacceptable", the spokesperson for the head of government urged Beijing to respect press freedom and the right to demonstrate.
"But that does not mean that we will not seek to have constructive relations with China on other issues" such as the fight against global warming or the economy, he said.
The BBC explained that it had "no official explanation or apology from the Chinese authorities, beyond an assertion by officials, who subsequently released him, that they arrested him for his own good at the case he caught the Covid (in the middle) of the crowd".
"We don't see that as a credible explanation."
“At least one (Chinese) national has been arrested after trying to stop the police from beating me,” Mr Lawrence tweeted on Monday.
"Based on facts"
Beijing assured Monday that Mr. Lawrence had not identified himself as a journalist "and did not voluntarily present his press accreditation", according to Zhao Lijian, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He asked foreign media to "respect Chinese laws and regulations during (their stay) in China".
The NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the arrest on Twitter and expressed its support for "all those who practice fact-based journalism in China".
Image taken from an eyewitness video broadcast via AFPTV, November 27, 2022, of a protest against anti-Covid policies in Shanghai, China - AFP
The British Secretary of State for Security, Tom Tugendhat, saw in this affair an echo of the "repression" that the Chinese Communist Party is trying to implement "elsewhere".
"Attempts at state repression here in the UK remind us of the urgent need to defend our own freedoms," he tweeted.
The United Kingdom was recently marked by the violence suffered by a Hong Kong pro-democracy activist at the Chinese consulate in Manchester (North) and by reports from a Spanish NGO that Beijing had opened clandestine police stations in several Western countries, particularly on British soil.
Tom Tugendhat announced in early November in Parliament that British police were investigating the matter.
"Any foreign country operating in the UK must abide by UK law," he said, stressing that "any attempt to illegally repatriate nationals will not be tolerated".
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© 2022 AFP