Slogans attacking Xi first appeared on a banner draped by a lone protester on the Beijing bridge last week.
Since then, the protests have spread to other Chinese cities and around the world, with even censors on the mainland banning the incident or any reference to Xi.
The phrases in the original handwritten banner criticized the strict lockdowns and restrictions that have defined Xi’s Covid Zero policy, while also calling for the president to be removed in favor of the election.
“We want food, not PCR test. We want freedom, not lockdown and control. We want respect, not lies,” read one of the banners.
Notably, even as the country is running zero anti-Covid banners, officials are doubling down on pandemic restrictions to stem a surge in cases in Beijing, where the 7-day CPC is being held.
According to VoiceofCN, a group of anonymous Chinese citizens who run a pro-democracy Instagram account, anti-Covid slogans have appeared in secret in at least eight Chinese cities, including Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, as well as Hong Kong.
Interestingly, bathrooms have become an important place to express dissent since being shielded from security cameras ubiquitous in China’s extensive surveillance system, Bloomberg reported.
zhongyuan zo liuA fellow on the Council on Foreign Relations described the protest as “very brave, and in many ways, very sacrificial” as the CPC’s opening nears its end – “the most important political event in China”.
Any public display of protest against Xi could result in long prison sentences in China, making even relatively isolated protests noteworthy.
The current flurry of protest activity is similar to the slogans “Not My President” that emerged at foreign universities after Xi lifted presidential limits in 2018, and to Chinese democracy activist Liu Xiaobo after his death in 2017. online support.
In recent years, even Chinese citizens living abroad and their families in China have faced repercussions for speeches challenging Beijing.
Meanwhile, since mid-September, a large number of petitioners and activists trying to influence the government have been imprisoned or placed under house arrest across China.
Authorities have also arrested more than 1.4 million criminal suspects nationwide since the end of June. Reason: They wanted to create a “safe and stable political and social environment” for the CPC.
(Bloomberg, with inputs from agencies)