BBCThe death of a teenage boy has sparked violent protests in a city in northwestern 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 protesters in Buqing, Shaanxi province.
The teen fell to his death on January 2 in an accident in his dorm at the school, authorities said. But after his death, allegations began spreading on social media about a cover-up.
Protests broke out soon after and continued for several days, before they were apparently suppressed earlier this week. The BBC has seen no further evidence of protest in Poching since then.
Public demonstrations are not common in China, but authorities have been particularly sensitive to them since the 2022 White Paper protests against Covid policies, which saw rare criticism of the Chinese Communist Party and President Xi Jinping.
State media has remained silent about the protests in Poqing. Any clips or mention of the demonstrations have been largely banned from Chinese social media, as is usually the case for incidents deemed sensitive by authorities.
But several videos were leaked outside China and posted on X.
The BBC confirmed that these videos were filmed at the Buqing Vocational Education Centre, and could not find previous versions online before the protests erupted over the past few days.
When contacted by the BBC, a representative of the Buqing government's propaganda department denied there were protests. There was no answer when we contacted an official handling media inquiries.
In a statement issued earlier this week, local authorities said the teenager, surnamed Dang, was a third-year student at the educational center in Buqing.
Before his death, Dang was woken up at night by other students chatting in his dormitory, their statement said. He got into an argument and altercation with a boy, which was resolved by a school official.
Later that night, another student found his body at the foot of the apartment building.
The statement described the incident as “an accident where a student fell from a height at school.” She added that the police conducted investigations and an autopsy, and “are currently ruling it out as a criminal case.”
But allegations spread online for days that there were more details and that the school and authorities were hiding the truth. One account claimed, without evidence, that Dang killed himself after being bullied by the boy he had quarreled with earlier.
Unverified statements from his family have been circulated, claiming that the injuries on Dang's body were not consistent with the authorities' version of events, and that they were not allowed to examine his body for an extended period.
The allegations appear to have angered many in Buching, sparking protests that attracted at least hundreds of people.
Bullying has become a highly sensitive topic in China in recent years, with previous student deaths sparking protests. Last month, a Chinese court issued long prison sentences to… Two teenagers killed their classmate.
There are also videos posted on X on Monday, which the BBC has confirmed were filmed at a vocational education center in Poqing, showing people mourning the teenager's death. They placed flowers and offerings at the school entrance, and performed traditional mourning rituals by throwing pieces of paper from the roof of the school building.
Other videos circulating online show demonstrators, many of them young, storming a building and clashing with police, chanting “Give us the truth.”
One verified clip shows a school official facing screaming protesters who pushed him. Other photos show destroyed offices in the complex, and demonstrators destroying a barrier at the entrance to the school.
Another display has protesters throwing objects like traffic cones at groups of retreating police; Officers deal with people, detain them, and beat them with batons. Some demonstrators were seen with blood on their heads and faces.
There is little information about what happened next, but reports on social media indicate a much larger police presence in Buching in recent days with no further reports of demonstrations.
The authorities also urged the public not to “stir up, believe or spread rumours.”
