This is the moment a defiant Chinese woman faced down riot cops during a “White Paper” revolution protest.
The woman, who has not been identified, has been dubbed the “new Tank Lady” after bravely refusing to budge when Covid enforcers ordered her to stop filming.
Footage shows the courageous lady standing still as police surround her and steal her phone before beating her, The Sun reports.
It’s not clear what then happened to the woman as another enforcer forces the cameraman to stop recording.
Stream more world news live & on demand with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer available for a limited time only >
It comes as China deploys an army of riot cops to crush protests as fury erupts over the deaths of ten people in a tower block blaze.
Many protesters waved blank sheets of paper in the air in a symbolic protest against censorship – with some now referring to the demonstrations as the “white paper revolution”.
The incredible footage is reminiscent of the “Tank Man” who stood in front of a row of military vehicles during the Tienanmen Square Massacre.
An image of a man carrying a bag blocking the path of a tank has become the defining image of the democracy movement in China.
The clip of the woman was shared by Yashar Ali, a Huffington Post contributor, who lauded the woman for her bravery.
He tweeted: “Watch this brave woman stand strong and continue to film the abuses of Chinese government security forces!
“She then gets beaten herself!
“While we support the people of Iran, we must also support the brave people of China as they take on the totalitarian CCP!”
Hundreds have taken to the streets in eight cities in China after the tragedy was blamed on President Xi Jinping’s draconian zero-Covid lockdown.
From Beijing to Shanghai, the deaths have led to protests across China and cops have descended onto the streets to keep order as tensions boil over.
Furious residents have blamed the deaths on the Covid lockdown as they said they were only allowed to leave home for short periods each day and the timing was strictly controlled by authorities.
Footage also showed workers trying to take down fences near the building, delaying firefighters and emergency services from getting to the scene and helping victims.
Thousands took to social media to question whether residents had been trapped in the building – and whether the fire exits had been blocked.
“Please have a thorough investigation into whether the fire exit is clear. The price is just way too heavy. Every tragedy is worse than Omicron itself,” one Weibo user said.
Last night, a BBC journalist was beaten and kicked when several police officers arrested him as anti-lockdown protests in China escalated.
The corporation said it was “very concerned” after foreign news cameraman Edward Lawrence was dragged to the ground by cops.
Footage shows at least four officers bundling him to the floor in cuffs in Shanghai before picking him up and leading him away.
Another clip shows him being walked away from the protest as he shouted to a friend: “Call the consulate now.”
Mr Lawrence was held for several hours before being released and is thought to have been targeted because he filmed the uprising.
And there are suggestions Mr Xi will be ousted in a coup as he faces an unprecedented uprising more significant than Tiananmen Square, a former diplomat has warned.
As the rage spread across the country, brave demonstrators called for the downfall of Mr Xi and the Communist Party that has ruled China with an iron fist for 73 years – criticism punishable by years in prison.
For the first time in 30 years, protesters flooded the grounds of two universities in Beijing while crowds in Shanghai chanted “down with the Chinese Communist Party”.
Such widespread protests are unprecedented since the 1989 student-led pro-democracy movement in Tiananmen Square that was crushed with deadly force by the army.
As the nation grows exhausted by the country’s zero-Covid rules, former diplomat Roger Garside warned “there’s no turning back” now – and cops will eventually be ordered to use force on protesters.
He told The Sun Online: “This has never happened before since the start of Communist Party rule in China in 1949.
“Even in 1989, people didn’t explicitly call for the leader to ‘step down’ or for the Communist Party to do so.
“In making such explicitly political demands, people have crossed a psychological and political red line. There will be no turning back.”
This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission
