Anti-Xi protest in Beijing on Sitong bridge shocks China - The Washington Post

“We privation to eat, not bash coronavirus tests; reform, not the Cultural Revolution. We privation freedom, not lockdowns; elections, not rulers. We privation dignity, not lies. Be citizens, not enslaved people,” work the reddish handwritten characters connected ample achromatic banners hung from Sitong Bridge successful the city’s northwest Haidian territory connected Thursday astatine astir midday section time, according to pictures and video of the banners shared wide online.

A 2nd banner read: “remove dictator and nationalist traitor Xi Jinping.” Nearby pedestrians stopped to work the banners and look astatine a plume of achromatic fume from a occurrence lit connected the span by the idiosyncratic who appeared to beryllium dressed successful the yellowish hard-hat and orangish overgarment of a operation worker, according to videos of the incident.

Some images appeared to amusement the idiosyncratic being taken distant by police, though determination had not been immoderate authoritative confirmation of an apprehension by Friday. The Haidian territory nationalist information bureau hung up erstwhile called by The Washington Post.

The Chinese Communist Party, intolerant to disapproval of apical leaders astatine the champion of times, is presently connected hair-trigger alert arsenic the country’s astir elder 2,300 politicians are arriving successful the superior metropolis for a legislature held each 5 years. For Xi, the country’s astir almighty person successful decades, the gathering is expected to beryllium a infinitesimal of triumph arsenic helium upsets past normal to enactment connected arsenic enactment person for much than 2 terms.

On Chinese societal media, censors battled with users who tried to stock accusation astir the protest, vastly limiting the fig of posts visible. Search results for presumption arsenic generic arsenic “Beijing,” “Haidian,” oregon “Sitong” returned acold less entries than mean and lone from officially verified accounts.

Some users attempted to circumvent the restrictions by referring obliquely to the incidental — a communal signifier of censorship-evasion. Some posted a opus titled “the brave one” oregon spoke astir a “single spark” successful notation to a celebrated revolutionary effort by Mao Zedong titled “a azygous spark tin commencement a prairie fire.”

The defiant enactment was hailed by Chinese dissidents and overseas quality rights activists, galore of whom likened the protester to “tank man,” the unidentified antheral who faced down Chinese soldiers connected Chang’an Boulevard connected June 5, 1989. China’s high-tech authoritarianism means activists tin lone run successful “lone warrior” mode, Teng Biao, a Chinese quality rights advocator who present lives successful the United States, wrote connected Twitter.

Xi’s absorption connected nationalist information and “social stability” has severely constricted abstraction for dissent successful China. The latest generation of Chinese quality rights and ideology activists has recovered it progressively hard to privately conscionable oregon stock ideas, fto unsocial signifier a superior revolt against Communist Party rule.

Security successful the superior tends to beryllium astatine it highest during large governmental events similar the upcoming congress. Dissidents who unrecorded successful Beijing are often taken distant by minders to far-flung parts of the state and checks summation for radical entering the city. This year, China’s continued strict covid controls person added a furniture of question restrictions and surveillance.

By Friday, constabulary had been installed adjacent salient bridges crossed the city, according to pictures posted by residents online.