Chinese dissident stages rare anti-communist protest ahead of Beijing military parade
In a rare act of defiance, a Chinese man projected anti-Communist slogans onto a skyscraper in Chongqing just days before President Xi Jinping’s military parade in Beijing, footage shared on social media shows.
The slogans included messages such as “Only without the Communist Party can there be a new China” and “Down with red fascism, overthrow Communist tyranny”, which were displayed for 50 minutes before police discovered the projector. A video shows officers entering an empty hotel room on August 29, where the projector had been set up, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Qi Hong, 43, a Chongqing native, told The New York Times that he arranged the protest in August while still in China, then left the country with his wife and daughters. From Britain, he remotely operated the projector and a surveillance camera that captured the police raid.
Qi, a former migrant worker and small-business owner, said he was inspired by previous protests, including a 2022 banner demonstration in Beijing and the nationwide “white paper” protests against COVID-19 restrictions. He criticized “blind patriotic education” in schools and expressed frustration over government repression.
Human Rights Watch’s Maya Wang described the protest as a testament to citizens’ courage: “The real significance lay in the continued willingness of fearless citizens to boldly and publicly criticize Chinese leader Xi Jinping and call for democratic reforms in the face of ever-growing government repression.”
Authorities in China have not publicly commented on the incident. Images of the protest did not circulate on domestic Chinese social media due to strict censorship, highlighting the rarity of such public dissent.
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