Violent protests after Pucheng student's fatal fall

The death of a teenager has sparked violent protests in a city in northwest China, the BBC has confirmed through verified video.

In videos shared on social media, protesters can be seen throwing objects at police and officers beating some demonstrators in Pucheng, Shaanxi province.

Authorities said the teen died Jan. 2 in an accident in his school's dormitory. But after his death, allegations began spreading on social media that there had been a cover-up.

Protests broke out shortly after and lasted for several days, before being apparently put down earlier this week. Since then, the BBC has seen no further evidence of protests in Pucheng.

Public protests are not uncommon in China, but authorities have been particularly sensitive to them since the 2022 White Paper protests against Covid policies, which resulted in rare criticism of the Chinese Communist Party and the president Xi Jinping.

State media has remained silent on the protests in Pucheng. Any clips or mentions of the protests have been largely censored from Chinese social media, as is typically the case for incidents deemed sensitive by authorities.

But several videos were leaked outside China and published on X.

The BBC confirmed that the videos were filmed at the Pucheng Vocational Education Center and could not find any earlier versions online before the outbreak of protests in recent days.

Contacted by the BBC, a representative of the Pucheng government's publicity department denied the existence of protests. There was no response when we called a media officer.

In a statement released earlier this week, local authorities said the teenager surnamed Dang was a third-year student at Pucheng Education Center.

Before his death, Dang had been awakened at night by other students chatting in his dorm room, according to their statement. He had an argument and altercation with a boy, which was resolved by a school official.

Later that night, his body was found by another student at the foot of the dormitory.

The statement described it as “an accident in which a student fell from a height at school.” He added that police had conducted an investigation and autopsy and “currently exclude this case from criminal prosecution.”

But allegations have been circulating online for days that the story was more complex and that the school and authorities were hiding the truth. One account claimed, without evidence, that Dang committed suicide after being bullied by the boy he had fought with earlier.

Unverified accounts from his family circulated, claiming that the injuries on Dang's body did not match authorities' version of events and that they were not allowed to examine his body for a long time.

The allegations appear to have sparked outrage among many people in Pucheng, sparking protests that attracted at least hundreds of people.

Bullying has become a very sensitive subject in China in recent years, with cases of student deaths sparking protests. Last month, a Chinese court handed down heavy prison sentences to two teenagers who murdered a classmate.

There are also videos posted on X on Monday, which the BBC confirmed were filmed at the Pucheng Vocational Education Center, showing people mourning the teenager's death. They left flowers and offerings at the school entrance and conducted a traditional mourning ritual by throwing pieces of paper from the roof of a school building.

Other videos circulating online appear to show protesters, most of them young, storming a building and confronting police while shouting “give us the truth.”

A verified clip shows a school official confronted by shouting protesters who shove him. Others show destroyed desks on the grounds and protesters tearing down a barricade at the school entrance.

Another shows protesters throwing objects such as traffic cones at groups of retreating police officers; and police officers attacking and arresting people while beating them with batons. Some demonstrators have blood on their heads and faces.

There is little information about what happened next, but reports on social media suggest a much larger police presence in Pucheng in recent days and no protests have been reported.

Authorities also urged the public not to “create rumors, believe rumors or spread rumors.”