Thousands of people in New Zealand marched in solidarity Monday with those in the United States protesting the death in police custody of African American George Floyd.
Protesters in Auckland marched to the U.S. Consulate and chanted slogans familiar at U.S. protests, including “black lives matter” and “no justice no peace.”
Monday’s demonstrations followed those Sunday in Britain, Brazil, Canada and other countries.
Thousands of protesters gathered in central London to voice their support for those in the United States who have turned out to condemn police conduct since Floyd’s death last week in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Floyd died after white police officer Derek Chauvin pressed a knee on the back of his neck for more than eight minutes, even as Floyd repeatedly said he could not breathe.
Protesters in Denmark marched to the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen on Sunday, carrying placards with such messages as "Stop Killing Black People." In Germany, protesters carried signs saying, "Hold Cops Accountable," and "Who Do You Call When Police Murder?"
In countries with authoritarian governments, officials criticized the actions of the police while state-controlled media have showcased the demonstrations in the context of U.S. government complaints about crackdowns on protesters in other countries, such as China’s treatment of pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a Monday briefing that the unrest shows “the severity of the problems of racism and police violence in the U.S.”
That followed comments by Hu Xijin, the editor of the Chinese Communist Party-run Global Times newspaper, who said U.S. officials can now see the protests out of their own windows: "I want to ask [House] Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi and Secretary [of State Mike] Pompeo: Should Beijing support protests in the U.S., like you glorified rioters in Hong Kong?"
In Iran, where the government has in recent years carried out harsh crackdowns on its own protesters, state television has shown repeated images of the U.S. unrest. Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi called Monday for U.S. authorities to “stop violence against your people and let them breathe.”
