Paris police detain 35 in protest over death of Chinese national

Chinese in Paris protest on the street against the killing of a Chinese man by police on Monday night, March 27, 2017. [Photo: Chinanews.com]

35 people were detained by police in Paris after a protest by around "150 members of the Asian community" near a local police station late Monday over the killing of a Chinese national by a Paris policeman turned violent , reported AFP.

Three officers were reportedly slightly injured and at least one man of Chinese origin was injured in the protest. 

The Chinese Foreign Ministry responded on Tuesday that it had lodged representations with officials of the French Embassy in China and urged the authorities in France to take practical and effective measures to protect the legal rights and wellbeing of Chinese citizens. The Foreign Ministry said that it will pay close attention to the development of the incident in Paris and hoped Chinese people in France express their appeals in a proper and legal manner.

Local media said the police were called to solve a domestic dispute on Sunday night and a Chinese man was shot dead by the police after he stabbed a policeman. A staff member of the police station in Paris' 19th District told reporters that the policeman would have been killed in the attack if the officer had not been wearing a bullet-proof vest. A second policeman on scene who witnessed the stabbing is said to have fired the fatal shot.

However, reporters from Chinanews.com got a wholly different story from one of the man's daughters who was at the site when her father was shot dead. She said that the police broke into their home and immediately opened fire after seeing her father holding scissors. She said her father was using the scissors to prepare fish. Moreover, she added that her father, being only about 160 cm (5.2 feet) in height, was almost knocked over by the police after they broke into their house.

Hearing the news, the Chinese Embassy in France immediately contacted French police and demanded to find out the truth as soon as possible. The embassy also sent people to console the man's family members and convened with local Chinese associations for further moves after the incident.

Local Chinese associations issued an appeal to Chinese communities to remain calm and refrain from protesting before the results of the police investigation were unveiled.

So far, local police have cordoned off the site of the incident and the man's wife and 5 children are temporarily staying at a hotel. It's been reported that the testimonies of the man's daughters will be heard on March 28.