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Violent protests have erupted in Pucheng in the Shaanxi province of China following the death of a teenager in an accident at his school dormitory, with demonstrators seen hurling objects at police and officers beating others.

The teenager – a third-year student with the surname Dang – had got into an argument and altercation with a boy in the middle of the night over noise in the dormitory.

It was initially resolved by a school official, but his body was later found at the foot of the dormitory block, authorities said.

Allegations shortly began to spread on social media that there had been a cover-up.

Protests involving at least hundreds of people erupted soon after and lasted for several days before they were reportedly quashed, according to BBC News.

State media has remained silent on the protests and any clips or mention of the demonstrations have largely been censored from Chinese social media – a common response by the authorities.

Public demonstrations are not uncommon in China, but the authorities have become particularly conscious of protests since the 2022 White Paper protests against the country’s Covid policies saw rare criticism of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Several videos of the protests have been leaked out of the country and posted on X, formerly Twitter, which the BBC have confirmed were filmed at the Pucheng Vocational Education Centre.

One clip shows many young people storming a building and clashing with police while shouting “give us the truth”. Another shows destroyed office buildings at the centre and a third shows a school official being shoved around.

Other protesters were seen with blood on their heads and faces.

When contacted by the BBC, a representative from the Pucheng government publicity department denied there had been any protests and the official handling media queries failed to answer.

The statement on the teenager’s death described it as “an accident where a student fell from a height at school”, adding that the police had conducted investigations and an autopsy and “at present exclude it as a criminal case”.

However, allegations claim that the school and authorities are covering up the truth, with accounts maintaining that Dang killed himself after he was bullied by the boy he had had the altercation with earlier that night.

Unverified remarks from his family have also alleged that the injuries on Dang’s body were inconsistent with the authorities’ version of events and that they were not allowed to examine his body for long.

Videos posted on X on January 6, also confirmed by the BBC, showed mourners outside the education centre, placing flowers and offerings at the entrance and conducting a traditional mourning ritual involving throwing pieces of paper from the rooftop of a school building.

Bullying has become a highly sensitive topic in China in recent years, with past cases of student deaths triggering similar protests.

Authorities have also urged the public not to “create rumours, believe in rumours, or spread rumours”.



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