Police killing exposes fear, anger of Chinese in France
PARIS — Chinese immigrants and China’s government are protesting a police killing in Paris that prompted violent street clashes and exposed the fears and frustrations of France’s large Asian community.
Protesters gathered Tuesday in northeast Paris for a second day of demonstrations over the fatal shooting of a Chinese man in his apartment, and police launched an internal investigation into a death that took on diplomatic implications.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China had summoned a representative of the French embassy in Beijing Tuesday and urged French officials to “get to the bottom of the incident as soon as possible.”
Chinese authorities “hope that Chinese nationals in France can express their wishes and demands in a reasonable way,” Hua said.
Residents and police gave conflicting accounts of what happened before the man was shot to death by police on Sunday evening.
Police said an officer fired in self-defence during a raid after the man wounded an officer with a “bladed weapon.” Rumours circulated among Chinese immigrants that 56-year-old Shaoyo Liu was in front of his children while cutting up fish with scissors and had not hurt anyone.
Protesters outraged by the killing and baton-wielding police clashed for several hours on Monday night.
Three police officers were injured and 35 protesters arrested, authorities said Tuesday.
France’s Foreign Ministry said an inquiry has been opened to shed light on the circumstances of the shooting.