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March 7, 2011

China Begins Violent Crackdown on Dissidents and Journalists 
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As the anti-government protests spread in North Africa and the Middle
East, Chinese officials have begun to crack down on dissidents and
foreign journalists. On Sunday, about a dozen European and Japanese
journalists in Shanghai were detained in an underground bunker-like room
for two hours after covering a protest. A journalist with Bloomberg News
has reported being beaten by security officers and followed by
plainclothes police officers. Undercover officers also recently roughed
up a BBC reporter by pushing him into a car and then repeatedly slamming
the car door on his legs.



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