‘Can you censor all?’ Rare public protest in opposition to Xi Jinping in Beijing triggers China’s firewall

Ahead of the twentieth Party Congress, banners had been unfurled in Beijing in protest in opposition to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s authoritarian rule.

New Delhi,UPDATED: Oct 14, 2022 22:38 IST

At the twentieth Party Congress, Xi Jinping is anticipated to increase his rule for an additional time period. (Image: Reuters)

By India Today Web Desk: Protests in China are uncommon, and information about protests in opposition to the Chinese regime even rarer. But simply forward of the important thing assembly of the ruling Communist Party, banners calling for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s elimination cropped up in Beijing.

Social media had been flooded with footage of banners protesting in opposition to Xi Jinping’s zero-Covid coverage and authoritarian regime. The protest began and ended swiftly with China’s stringent censorship instantly kicking in. But the timing of the protest and the rarity of such an incident was sufficient to make headlines.

Here are the highest developments within the story:

Two massive banners had been unfurled on the Sitong Bridge in Beijing, calling for the elimination of Xi Jinping. The banner learn, “Say no to Covid test, yes to food. No to lockdown, yes to freedom. No to lies, yes to dignity. No to cultural revolution, yes to reform. No to great leader, yes to vote. Don’t be a slave, be a citizen.”

Another banner, held on the flyover, learn, “Go on strike, remove dictator and national traitor Xi Jinping.”

The protest in opposition to Chinese regime, a rarity within the nation, despatched the netizens into frenzy with a number of social media customers making veiled reference to the banners. The hashtag “I saw it” trending on social media following the protest. Some netizens shared Chinese pop hit “Lonely Warrior” in a veiled reference to the protester. “Thank you for letting me still see hope for this land,” one remark mentioned.

“The person has disappeared, the name of the site has disappeared, so many words are disappearing. But there are so many Chinese characters, so many pair of eyes. Can you censor us all?” mentioned one other consumer.

The protest instantly invited Chinese censorship with seek for “Sitong Bridge,” the positioning of the protest censored. Key phrases together with “Beijing,” “Haidian,” “warrior,” “brave man,” and even “courage” had been restricted on Weibo, a Twitter-like platform in China, as per a CNN report.

The protest comes simply forward of the twentieth Party Congress, scheduled for October 16. At the important thing meet, Xi Jinping is anticipated to increase his rule for an additional time period. Xi Jinping, who got here to energy in 2012, is anticipated to obtain a 3rd five-year time period as celebration chief on the finish of the congress.

There is not any clear concept concerning the identification of the protester. While some web customers claimed to have recognized the protester, others shared pictures presupposed to be of the protester on the bridge, disguised in a development helmet and shirt, as per a report by the Guardian.

According to Fang Zhouzi, a US-based Chinese science author, the identical slogans displayed on the bridge was earlier posted to his ResearchGate account by the person believed to be the protester. However, the Chinese police is but to launch any data on the identification of the protestor.