<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Large-scale protests broke out at Foxconn's vast iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, central China, images circulating Wednesday on Weibo and Twitter showed.</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Beijing's unrelenting zero-Covid policy has caused fatigue and resentment among wide swathes of the population, some of whom have been locked down for weeks at factories and universities, or unable to travel freely.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">In the videos, which AFP was not able to independently verify, hundreds of workers can be seen marching on a road in daylight, with some being confronted by riot police and people in hazmat suits.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Others show hundreds of people in hazmat gear standing on a road near what appears to be factory residential buildings, while the person filming the clip from an adjacent apartment building says: "It's starting again, from last night to this morning."</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Several security personnel in protective garb appeared to be kicking a worker lying on a main road in another clip.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Video from a separate livestream showed dozens of workers at night confronting a row of police officers and a police vehicle with flashing lights, shouting: "Defend our rights! Defend our rights!"</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">As clouds of smoke emanate from the vehicle, the streamer can be heard saying: "They are rushing in! Smoke bombs! Tear gas!"</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">A clip of the same nighttime protest taken from another angle shows workers setting off fire extinguishers towards police just out of frame.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">One photo taken during the day showed the charred remains of a gate, apparently burned down during the night.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The Weibo hashtag "Foxconn riots" appeared to be censored by Wednesday noon, while some text posts referencing large-scale protests at the factory remained live.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Foxconn, also known by its official name Hon Hai Precision Industry, is the world's biggest contract electronics manufacturer, assembling gadgets for many international brands.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The Taiwanese tech giant, Apple's principal subcontractor, recently saw a surge in Covid-19 cases at its Zhengzhou site, leading the company to shutter the vast complex in a bid to keep the virus in check.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Since then, the huge facility of some 200,000 workers -- dubbed "iPhone City" -- has been operating in a "closed loop" bubble.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Footage emerged this month of panicking workers fleeing the site en masse on foot in the wake of allegations of poor conditions at the facility, with multiple employees recounting scenes of chaos and disorganisation at the complex of workshops and dormitories.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The company did not respond to an AFP request for comment on the latest unrest. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>