China warns its citizens in Washington to take safety precautions against protests and virus
- Chinese state media outlets and commentators are closely following and sharing images of the unfolding situation in the US
- ‘When I woke up, Congress had fallen and the US was in chaos’ one popular and anonymous commentator said on WeChat
The embassy issued a short statement on Thursday morning, after mounting chaos in the US capital which followed Trump’s call to thousands of supporters at a rally near the Capitol that they should “never concede”.
Chinese citizens in the US should beware of both the demonstrations and the coronavirus, it said. “The current epidemic situation in the United States is severe. A large scale demonstration took place in Washington DC on 6 January, and the local government has announced a curfew,” the statement read.
“The embassy reminds Chinese citizens in the United States to pay close attention to the local epidemic and security situation,” it said, and reminded citizens to pay greater attention to safety precautions, and to call the police in case of danger or an emergency.
01:13
Trump supporters storm US Capitol, forcing lockdown amid declaration of Biden victory
According to US media reports, a woman was shot and killed during the storming of the Capitol building. Washington mayor Muriel Bowser imposed a curfew and said anyone on the streets after 6pm local time would be arrested.
