4 protesters against China’s COVID policy released on bail

By HUIZHONG WU
Associated Press

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — An activist says officials in Beijing have released four women on bail who were arrested for joining rare nationwide protests in late November against China’s tough anti-coronavirus policy. One of the women, Cao Zhixin, had recorded a video before her detention saying, “If you’re watching this, it means that I have been taken away by the police.” She and her friends were detained in Beijing in December and accused of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a vague charge often used against dissidents. All were released Thursday on bail, according to a Chinese activist who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of government reprisals. The protests were the most direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party in decades.