Pei* woke up with a jolt on Sunday morning.

While he was asleep, hundreds of people had marched down Shanghai’s Wulumqi street, chanting against lockdown – and even Xi Jinping. His phone was full of footage.

Anxious not to miss his chance, the 28-year-old grabbed his camera and drove to the scene.

“I like freedom, democracy and surfing the internet,” he tells the Telegraph. “But that is all against the law in China.”

When Pei arrived on the street and started to take photographs, he was knocked to the ground by five police officers.

“They said I wasn’t allowed to take pictures. They are so afraid that I will tell other people the truth,” he says, eyes darting to the door of the café for fear he will be spotted talking to a journalist.

After several hours in a police station, he was offered a bowl of rice and vegetables. He asked for a little more rice.

Instead, the officers tied his wrists and ankles to a chair - the marks are still visible days later.

“A simple form of torture, really,” he says.

Dozens of protesters who were detained during the protests on the weekend have started to resurface after their release. Police have not provided information on the number of arrests, but there were enough to require the use of several stations in the local area.

• Xi faces angry mobs as ‘zero-Covid’ policy backfires
• More anti-COVID protests in China triggered by deadly fire

Most protesters shy away from talking to the media; for many, this was the first time they had taken part in any act of civil disobedience.

Bo Jun* tells his story via a complicated digital detour.

Like most of those who were arrested, he was immediately forced to hand over his phone at the police station. On the spot, they checked if he posted videos of the protest on social media.

The officers also wanted to know his home and work address and took fingerprints. With a small needle, they pricked his finger for a drop of blood.

Bo Jun was locked in a room of about five square metres along with six other people. “We weren’t allowed to talk. We didn’t get any water, nothing to eat, and there wasn’t enough room to sleep,” he says.

After a day and a half, he was released. But the officers kept his phone - something that dramatically complicates life in China. Health codes, digital payments, chat apps; none of these are accessible without the device and that, he feels, is the point the police wanted to make – we can exile you in your hometown.

“I’m scared every day,” he says. “Even the flashing red and blue lights freak me out. And when I see the clothes that I wore that night laying around, painful memories come flooding back.”

Most people who protested last Saturday were outraged by the coronavirus restrictions. With promises of fewer and more targeted lockdowns, Beijing may get them back in line. But for a smaller group there is a more profound dissatisfaction.

They say Xi is unable to lead the country, and the Communist Party is depriving them of their rights as dignified citizens.

Police are trying various methods to put the genie back in the bottle. Universities - typically a hotbed for dissent - have sent their students home early for the holidays. In Shanghai, there are rumours of a new city-wide lockdown.

The death of Jiang Zemin, the former Chinese president, on Wednesday could be a catalyst for further protests. On Wednesday evening, there was a lively discussion in covert chat groups about how to use Jiang’s mourning to show dissent.

But only the extremely brave - or the foolhardy - dare take to the streets now.

In the most central areas of Shanghai, there is a police car with flashing lights stationed on every street corner. In the subway and on Wulumuqi street, phones are checked for illegal software.

Pei fears people will not dare to speak out any more.

“If only five per cent of the population of Shanghai takes to the streets, the police will not have the capacity to stop us. But people are not united.”

He doesn’t think a repeat of the weekend’s protests is likely.

Bo Jun agrees. “I think this will be over soon. People are slowly starting to understand what the problem is. But we may not be able to solve it.”

*Names have been changed