NNA - Protests in China against government's strict Covid measures have intensified, with some people publicly venting their anger at the Communist Party leaders.
Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Shanghai, where the BBC saw people being bundled into police cars.
Students have also demonstrated at universities in Beijing and Nanjing.
The latest unrest follows a protest in the remote north-west city of Urumqi, where lockdown rules were blamed after 10 people died in a tower block fire.
While Chinese authorities deny that Covid restrictions caused the deaths, officials in Urumqi did issue an unusual apology late on Friday, and pledged to "restore order" by phasing out restrictions.
'Xi Jinping, step down'
At the protest in Shanghai - China's biggest city and a global financial hub in the east of the country - some people were seen lighting candles and laying flowers for the victims.
Others were heard shouting slogans such as "Xi Jinping, step down" and "Communist party, step down". Some also held blank white banners.
Such demands are an unusual sight within China, where any direct criticism of the government and the president can result in harsh penalties.
One protester told the BBC that he felt "shocked and a bit excited" to see people out on the streets, calling it the first time he'd seen such large-scale dissent in China.
He said lockdowns made him feel "sad, angry and hopeless", and had left him unable to see his unwell mother, who was undergoing cancer treatment.
A female demonstrator told the BBC police officers were asked how they felt about the protests, and the answer was "the same as you". But, she said, "they wear their uniforms so they're doing their job."
Others gave accounts of violence, with one protester telling the Associated Press news agency one of his friends had been beaten by police at the scene, while two others had been pepper sprayed.
Though the situation in the area had calmed by Sunday morning, the BBC saw a heightened police presence in the area of the protest, with several dozen police officers, private security guards and plain-clothed police officers on the streets.
Elsewhere, photos and videos emerged online of students holding vigils for the Urumqi fire victims and launching protests at universities in Beijing and Nanjing.
Hundreds of people took part in one such demonstration in Tsinghua University in the capital, one student told the AFP news agency.
The group held up blank sheets of paper - an act which has become a symbol of defiance against Chinese censorship - and were filmed chanting songs in support of freedom and democracy.
Videos of the protests are difficult to independently verify, but many of them show an unusually explicit and outspoken criticism of the government and its leader. --- BBC
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