LOCATION: Urumqi
TYPE OF INCIDENT: Violence, detained for three hours, broken equipment, confiscated tape
TOPIC: Protests
NATIONALITY/ORGANIZATION: Hong Kong/television
“At around 3.30pm, we were interviewing Han Chinese protestors on Hongqi road. There were a few thousand protestors and about 1,000 paramilitary. At a road junction (police) had put up barricade. The protestors walked close. They were yelling slogans, calling for (Xinjiang Party Secretary Wang Lequan to quit.”
The police fired tear gas, and the situation grew chaotic.
“I was separated from my cameraman. He was holding his camera, filming. Five-six paramilitary went up to my colleague and grabbed him, pushing him to the ground. His hands were tied to his back with rope, along with the TVB cameraman and reporter. The three of them were pressed to the ground.
They told them they had their State Council press passes in their pockets, but the officers didn’t listen and continued to beat them. They were beaten on the head repeatedly, on the leg. Then, the three of them were taken to the police station and questioned.
Our camera was confiscated. When they returned the camera around 5.30pm, we realized they had taken our tape. An officer went up to my colleague to apologize for the incident. We asked for our tape back but they said they don’t know what happened to it. They let us go. “