Angry residents in China’s Henan province surrounded and attacked a police officer after they were told not to set off fireworks on Monday night.
Videos circulated online showed crowds swarming a police car and eventually turning it upside down before a Swat vehicle arrived to rescue the officer.
“A few people intentionally destroyed a police car on duty, drawing spectators, resulting in chaos and causing ill impact,” said a statement by the police bureau for Luyi county, which is administered by Zhoukou city where the unrest took place. Order was restored quickly and there were no casualties, according to the statement.
Eight people are being investigated on suspicion of causing disruption, six of whom have been arrested, the police said.
In one clip, a group of men stomp on top of the police car before turning it upside down and taking selfies with it. Other videos show several men attacking a police officer and hitting the car as a large crowd surrounds them and fireworks are set off in the background.
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Some who are eager to see the back of 2022 and chase away bad luck had been calling for an end of the ban on fireworks.
A fire in a residential building, which killed ten people who were stuck there due to China’s draconian zero-Covid measures, prompted rare protests in November. President Xi has lifted most pandemic control policies since, resulting in a rapid spread of Covid.
Beijing has only reported 4,833 infections and three deaths for the entire country, however it is estimated that thousands of people are dying from the virus each day.
• Read more: Covid arrivals to UK from China will not have to self-isolate
The fireworks ban, in place in Zhengzhou since 2016, extends across most urban areas of China due to concerns over fire hazards and air pollution. This year, however, many had expressed a strong desire for it to be loosened to mark an end to three years of pandemic restrictions.
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As the calls fell on deaf ears, many decided to ignore the prohibition on New Year’s Eve. In Henan’s provincial capital of Zhengzhou, residents set off fireworks prompting city management officers to make rounds with fire extinguishers to put out flames.
A government statement said tens of thousands of people were dissuaded from setting off fireworks and that more than 50 vendors of fireworks were ordered to stop sales.
In the northeastern city of Dalian the authorities declared they would allow fireworks during the upcoming Chinese new year. At least two cities in the eastern province of Shandong will also allow fireworks during the traditional holiday. The city of Beijing has no plans to amend its no-fireworks policy this year.
