Beijing Sitong Bridge protest

The Beijing Sitong Bridge protest was a protest in China during the prelude to the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). On the morning of October 13, 2022, a protester demonstrated against CCP general secretary Xi Jinping's cult of personality, dictatorship, human rights violations, strengthening of censorship, seeking of leadership for life and implementation of the zero-COVID policy by hanging banners and burning tires on Sitong Bridge (Chinese: 四通桥; pinyin: Sìtōng Qiáo) in Haidian District, Beijing.

Beijing Sitong Bridge protest
Part of the Chinese democracy movement and the 2022 COVID-19 protests in China
Sitong Bridge pictured in 2003
DateOctober 13, 2022
Location
Sitong Bridge, Haidian District, Beijing, China

39.96564°N 116.31517°E / 39.96564; 116.31517
Caused byOpposition to Xi Jinping and the Chinese government's zero-COVID policy
MethodsHanging banners, playing slogans on loudspeakers, burning tires to produce black smoke
Resulted inProtester arrested, banners and loudspeakers removed
Lead figures
Beijing Sitong Bridge protest is located in central Beijing
Beijing Sitong Bridge protest
Location within central Beijing

The protester, known as Peng Lifa,[1] has been dubbed Bridge Man or Banner Man in reference to Tank Man.

Background
Further information: Protest and dissent in China

Protests took place frequently in China in the 2000s, with 180,000 protests taking place in 2010 according to Tsinghua University sociology professor Sun Liping.[2]

This protest against Xi Jinping and his policies was rare, as it came just days before the start of the CCP National Congress, a period during which the authorities imposed extremely tight control over protests and dissent. It was widely expected that Xi's rule for an unprecedented third term would be cemented at the Congress.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

Protest

We don't want nucleic acid testing, we want food to eat;
We don't want lockdowns, we want freedom;
We don't want lies, we want dignity;
We don't want Cultural Revolution, we want reform;
We don't want [dictatorial] leaders, we want elections;
We don't want to be slaves, we want to be citizens.[9]

(不要核酸要吃饭 不要封控要自由 不要谎言要尊严
不要文革要改革 不要领袖要选票 不做奴才做公民)

Content of the left banner

Go on strike at school and work, remove dictator and national traitor Xi Jinping!
Arise! Ye who refuse to be slaves! Oppose dictatorship. Oppose authoritarianism. Save China with one person one vote to elect the president!!!
(罢课罢工罢免独裁国贼习近平
起来不愿意做奴隶的人们！ 反独裁反专制救中国 一人一票选主席！！！)

Content of the right banner

I want to eat. I want to be free. I want to vote.
Go on strike at school and work, remove the treasonous dictator Xi Jinping!
(要吃饭，要自由，要选票！
罢课，罢工，罢免独裁国贼习近平！)

Content played by loudspeaker equipment

The protest was held on October 13, on Sitong Bridge by a lone protester. The protester, having disguised himself as a construction worker by wearing an orange vest and a yellow helmet, placed two banners on the bridge and set fire to tires to produce attention-drawing smoke. He then repeatedly chanted through a loudspeaker, "Go on strike at school and work, remove dictator and national traitor Xi Jinping! We want to eat, we want freedom, we want to vote!"[10] He was soon arrested by security forces.[11][12]

Photos of the event spread rapidly on online social media.[13][14]

Though the New York Times published an article on 2022/12/07 naming him "Peng Lifa," the protester's identity has not been confirmed. However, some believe him to be an academic physicist and have flooded a Twitter account assumed to be linked to the protester with messages of admiration.[10] The Wall Street Journal and Radio Free Asia reported that some activists believed the protester to be Peng Lifa, also known as Peng Zaizhou, a 48-year-old physics enthusiast.[15][16]

Protest banner themes included Xi Jinping's cult of personality, dictatorship and totalitarian rule, infringement of human rights, strengthening of censorship, Xi Jinping's reelection despite failure to observe term limits, the Cultural Revolution, the implementation of the "zero-COVID" policy, and overwork.[17][18][12][19][20]

Reactions
Anti Xi Jinping flyers in Stanford University in solidarity with the Sitong Bridge protest
Anti Xi Jinping flyers in Stanford University in solidarity with the Sitong Bridge protest

His act was described by BBC News as "one of the most significant acts of Chinese protest seen under Mr Xi's rule".[10]

In response to the protest, numerous photos circulated in Twitter of posters showing solidarity with the protester and slogans denouncing Xi Jinping from campuses of numerous universities in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Netherlands and South Korea.[21][22] Similar protest slogans subsequently appeared as graffiti in other cities in China[23] and via AirDrop.[24] Art celebrating his actions has also been shared online.[10]

Censorship
Further information: Internet censorship in China and Chinese censorship abroad

Photographs and videos of the protest were censored by the Chinese internet censorship system.[25][26] Some individuals who reposted video or images of the protest were also arrested.[27][28] Chinese authorities censored terms which could lead people to the protest, including "Sitong Bridge" and "brave man",[29] and Bloomberg News reported that words such as "courage", "bridge" and even "Beijing" were also censored.[29][30]

The following month, Apple released an iOS update that prevents AirDrop from being enabled in "Everyone" mode for more than 10 minutes at a time for users in China (after which it reverts to a mode requiring the sender to be on the receiver's contacts list). Apple publicly stated that this was intended to help reduce unsolicited images, and that the feature would become available outside of China at a later date. It was suggested by Bloomberg News that the change was made at the request of the Chinese government.[31][32]

Baidu Maps subsequently removed the location of the protest from its online maps.[33]

References
  1. "Protester Who Unfurled Anti-Xi Messages from Beijing Bridge Still Detained Year Later". VOA News. October 12, 2023.
  2. "China's Spending on Internal Policing Outstrips Defense Budget". Bloomberg News. March 6, 2011. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  3. "'New tank man': Rare protest in Beijing mars Xi Jinping's moment". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 4, 2022. the Sitong Bridge in Beijing on Friday, where protest banners with slogans criticizing the Communist Party's policies were hung the day before, ahead of China's 20th Communist Party Congress
  4. "'We all saw it': anti-Xi Jinping protest electrifies Chinese internet". The Guardian. October 14, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022. Such an overt and publicised protest against Xi specifically would be significant at the best of times, but this occurred just days out from the ruling Communist party congress.
  5. "Anti-Xi protest spreads in China and worldwide as Chinese leader begins third term". CNN. October 23, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022. Over the past week, as party elites gathered in Beijing's Great Hall of the People to extoll Xi and his policies at the 20th Party Congress, anti-Xi slogans echoing the Sitong Bridge banners have popped up in a growing number of Chinese cities and hundreds of universities worldwide.
  6. "Unusual public criticism of Xi Jinping before CCP meeting". Quartz. October 14, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  7. "China's "Bridge Man" inspires Xi Jinping protest signs around the world". BBC News. October 18, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022. A rare one-man protest against Xi Jinping in Beijing has inspired solidarity protests around the world as China's party congress sits this week.
  8. "Rare protest criticizes China's president days before Communist Party congress". NBC News. October 13, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022. A rare protest calling for Chinese President Xi Jinping's overthrow was staged in the country's capital Thursday, days before the start of the Communist Party congress, which is expected to cement his rule for an unprecedented third term.
  9. Mair, Victor, Translation strategies: open protest at Sitong (Four-Way) Bridge, October 20, 2022, Language Log.
  10. "China congress: How one man on a bridge marred Xi Jinping's big moment". BBC News. October 21, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  11. Tan, Yvette (October 14, 2022). "China protest: Mystery Beijing demonstrator sparks online hunt and tributes". BBC News. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  12. "'New tank man': Rare protest in Beijing mars Xi Jinping's moment". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  13. Davidson, Helen (October 14, 2022). "'We all saw it': anti-Xi Jinping protest electrifies Chinese internet". The Guardian. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  14. Pollard, Martin Quin; Baptista, Eduardo (October 14, 2022). "Rare political protest banners removed in Chinese capital". Reuters. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  15. Fan, Wenxin; Lu, Shen (October 22, 2022). "Beijing Protester's Battle Cry Sends Ripples Worldwide". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  16. "Chinese police pressure family of U.S.-based student over support for "Bridge Man"". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  17. "北京闹市出现反习反封控、要求民主横额". Radio Free Asia (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  18. "Rare protest against China's Xi Jinping days before Communist Party congress". CNN. October 13, 2022. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  19. "Anti-CCP protest and lockdown fears fuel China tensions before congress". The Guardian. October 13, 2022. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  20. Pan, Jenny (October 13, 2022). "Chinese police arrest bridge protestor calling for citizens to "take down dictator Xi Jinping"". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  21. "Beijing Protester's Battle Cry Sends Ripples Worldwide". The Wall Street Journal. October 22, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  22. Quinn, Jimmy (October 14, 2022). "Beijing Bridge Demonstration Goes Global Ahead of Xi's Big Meeting". National Review. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  23. "Anti-Xi Slogans in Rare Beijing Protest Spread Within China". Bloomberg News. October 18, 2022. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  24. Cheung, Rachel (October 19, 2022). "Anti-Xi Jinping Posters Are Spreading in China via AirDrop". Vice News. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  25. Kang, Dake (October 13, 2022). "China quashes social media about protest banners in Beijing". Associated Press. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  26. Wakabayashi, Daisuke; Fu, Claire (October 14, 2022). "China's Internet Censors Race to Quell Beijing Protest Chatter". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  27. "Shanghai police detain retired teacher who posted "Bridge Man" clips on Twitter". Radio Free Asia. October 17, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  28. "Global Propaganda on Uyghurs, 20th Congress Censorship, Brazen Transnational Repression". Freedom House. October 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  29. Antelava, Natalia (October 20, 2022). "China censors "Beijing" on Weibo, torture in Izium, and Russia is jailing its elites". Coda Media. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  30. "China Censors "Beijing" After Rare Protest in City Against Xi". Bloomberg News. October 14, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  31. Gurman, Mark (November 10, 2022). "Apple Limits iPhone File-Sharing Tool Used for Protests in China". Bloomberg News. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  32. "Apple hobbled a crucial tool of dissent in China weeks before widespread protests broke out". Quartz. November 27, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  33. Hawkins, Amy (June 2, 2023). "Chinese censors remove protest site Sitong Bridge from online maps". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
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