A Man In China Held A Rare Protest Against Xi Jinping And Started A Movement Around The World
From South Korea to the UK, Taiwan to the US, posters protesting against Chinese president Xi Jinping, who was confirmed for a third five-year term, have been popping up around the world, inspired by a man who held a rare one-man protest against Xi on a bridge in Beijing, China.
On the afternoon of Thursday Oct. 13, the man, dressed as a construction worker, unfurled two protest banners on the Sitong Bridge in Beijing’s Haidian District, while black smoke billowed up from a fire on the bridge.
The banners read: “No COVID tests, but life. No Cultural Revolution, but reform. No lockdowns, but freedom. No rulers but elections. No lies, but dignity. No slaves, but citizens” and “Students, workers, strike. Depose the dictator and national traitor Xi Jinping.”
The demonstration came three days ahead of the start of the week-long Chinese Communist Party Congress, where Xi was confirmed for a third five-year term on Oct. 23.
The banners were taken down by authorities not long after they were unfurled, an eyewitness told AFP.
The man was then reportedly detained.
The protest quickly went viral on Chinese social media, with the man becoming known as “Bridge Man”, a reference to Tank Man, the lone protester facing down tanks in the famous Tianamen Square photo.
However, posts were swiftly censored, with keywords such as “Sitong Bridge”, “Haidian” and “Beijing protester” blocked.
The protest has inspired a movement around the world, as well as inside China, with students and activists printing posters with the slogans and pasting them across campuses and public places.
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