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STORY: A video obtained by Reuters showed large crowds of factory workers in Zhengzhou city shouting and using poles to strike authorities cowering behind plastic shields, while footage from another video showed metal railings being thrown at men standing behind a fence.

The rare scenes of open dissent in China mark an escalation of unrest at the massive factory in Zhengzhou that has come to symbolize a dangerous build-up in frustration with the country's ultra-severe COVID rules as well as inept handling of the situation by the world's largest contract manufacturer.

The trigger for the protests, which began early on Wednesday (November 23), appeared to be a plan to delay bonus payments, many of the demonstrators said on livestream feeds. Foxconn, formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, said on Thursday a "technical error" occurred when hiring new recruits at the COVID-hit iPhone factory in China and apologized to workers after the company was rocked by the fresh labor unrest.