You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Chinese. (October 2022) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Chinese Wikipedia article at [[:zh:四通桥事件]]; see its history for attribution.
You may also add the template {{Translated|zh|四通桥事件}} to the talk page.
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]
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.[10]
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, 2022, 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!"[11] He was soon arrested by security forces.[12][13]Radio Free Asia reported in October 2023 that he was still alive, whereabouts "unclear," with his family under close surveillance.[14]
This section is missing information about Peng Lifa's "guide to protest", posted on ResearchGate prior to the incident at the bridge. Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.(December 2022)
Though The New York Times published an article on December 7, 2022, 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.[11]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.[17][18]
Anti Xi Jinping flyers in Stanford University in solidarity with the Sitong Bridge protestAnti Xi Jinping flyers in Stanford University in solidarity with the Sitong Bridge protest
Peng's act was described by BBC News as "one of the most significant acts of Chinese protest seen under Mr Xi's rule".[11]
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.[23][24] Similar protest slogans subsequently appeared as graffiti in other cities in China[25] and via AirDrop.[26] Art celebrating his actions has also been shared online.[11]
Photographs and videos of the protest were censored by the Chinese internet censorship system.[27][28] Some individuals who reposted video or images of the protest were also arrested.[29][30] Chinese authorities censored terms which could lead people to the protest, including "Sitong Bridge" and "brave man",[31] and Bloomberg News reported that words such as "courage", "bridge" and even "Beijing" were also censored.[31][32]
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.[33][34]
Baidu Maps subsequently removed the location of the protest from its online maps.[35]
^"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.
^"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.
.svg){kind=small}
.jpg)
