The Great Firewall

突发！6000万特权阶层打涨薪引民愤，国际热议！为刺激消费or害怕出李自成？习主席新年致辞满嘴谎言成国际笑话！2025年将会更加黑暗？(2024... youtu.be/mKubd33Kay0?si… 来自 @YouTube

Today marks the two-year anniversary of the #WhitePaperProtest in China. Two years ago in Shanghai, I joined this historic movement, being China’s largest nationwide protest since 1989, and was deeply moved by the courage and solidarity displayed by the Chinese people. Ten days later, the Chinese authorities, in an unprecedented move, abandoned their three-year-long zero-COVID policy. The White Paper Protest occurred not only against the backdrop of China’s draconian three-year zero-COVID policies but also less than two months after #XiJinping crossed term limits and entered indefinite rule. On the streets, people echoed the famous slogans of #PengLifa on Beijing’s #SitongBridge, alongside calls for gender equality, freedom of speech, and artistic and cinematic freedom. In Shanghai, protesters chanted “Down With Xi Jinping, Down With CCP”. Meanwhile, nearly every major city overseas of China saw for the first time, more than thousands of Chinese people gathering in solidarity with protesters and detainees inside China. Free from censorship, their slogans focused even more sharply on criticizing the ruling Chinese Communist Party and calling for China’s democratization. Following these gatherings, Chinese communities began to emerge in those cities, engaging not only with China’s democratization but also broader issues of human rights and gender equality. Something particularly significant of the White Paper Protests was the visibility and recognition of #feminist and #LGBTQ protesters. CCP’s suppression of gender-related activism had long been escalating in the past, leaving them with almost no space to operate. Yet during the protests, they took to the streets, bringing the voices of gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights into public spaces, navigating censorship to develop unique forms of resistance. The significance of this protest extends even further. For the first time, the majority ethnic group in China, Han, protested in solidarity with the suffering of another group—the #Uyghurs. I can remember merely a decade ago, under the influence of state propaganda, people around me still held the belief that Uyghurs and Tibetans were “terrorists.” Now, during these protests largely led by young people, there was a growing understanding that Uyghurs and Tibetans were enduring even greater atrocities. In overseas communities, activists began building connections with Uyghur, Tibetan, and Hong Kong activists through off-line events, incorporating their voices and demands into their own struggles. Two years ago, I was arrested during the White Paper Protests and placed in solitary confinement for 37 days for my exposing police violence against peaceful protesters. The torture I endured during that time solidified my resolve to take greater action against human rights violations in China. This year marks my first time being able to commemorate the Ürümqi Fire and White Paper Protest from abroad, after leaving China permanently. But this will not be the last. Chinese human rights activists will continue to fight until the day China is free.