Xi Jinping Step Down
作者：冯仍
编辑：罗志飞 责任编辑：鲁慧文 翻译：鲁慧文
8月7日中午，云南昆明抗战纪念馆前，一名身穿白衣的年轻男子高举 “习近平走人” 标语，向中共专制统治表达强烈抗议。现场视频显示，该男子无惧警察和保安，坚定举牌引发路人围观，随后被防暴警察带走。此事再次暴露出中国普通民众对言论自由的渴望以及中共政权的高压镇压。
为更好理解此事件背景，作者核实了近年来相关抗议事件的真实性及影响：
2023年1月武汉市中心抗议尽管有网络流传称一市民身披 “要民主自由选票” 标语公开发表演讲遭警方控制，作者未发现官方或权威媒体对此事件有确切报道。但2022年底至2023年初武汉因疫情封控引发的大规模民众抗议实有发生，部分示威者曾呼喊 “习近平下台” 等口号。
2022年1月14日深圳罗湖口岸 “罗湖勇士” 事件关于一名男子举 “打倒习近平，捍卫改革开放” 标语并被警方带走的说法，暂无确切公开报道。该说法可能与其他抗议事件混淆。
2022年10月13日北京四通桥彭立发抗议事件此事件为确凿事实。彭立发在北京四通桥悬挂呼吁“不要核酸要吃饭！不要封锁要自由！罢课罢工罢免独裁国贼习近平” 的横幅，随后被警方拘捕，至今下落未明。该事件被视为自1989年六四事件以来北京首次直接挑战中共政权的公开抗议。
2023年7月30日湖南娄底天桥横幅抗议事件该事件真实存在。娄底一年轻人效仿彭立发事件，在天桥悬挂类似标语，呼吁民主与自由，事件引发关注，其本人随后被拘捕。
2024年4月15日四川成都梅世林横幅抗议事件梅世林在成都茶店子客运站高架桥挂出呼吁政治体制改革的条幅，随后失联，据信被警方拘留。该事件广泛传播，彰显中国民众对政治改革的诉求。
这些事件深刻反映了中国社会积压已久的矛盾与民众对民主自由的强烈渴望，也暴露出中共政权表面强硬下的极度脆弱与恐惧。作为一名长期关注中国民主运动的流亡者，我深知中共对真理的恐惧和对人民独立思考的压制是其统治的根基。这个政权依靠谎言和暴力维系，视普通百姓为敌人，唯有通过残酷的高压手段才能勉强保持表面的“稳定”。
云南这位白衣勇士的无畏抗争，正是无数中国普通人内心中渴望突破恐惧、追求真理与自由的写照。作为远离故土的见证者，我呼吁国际社会不要忽视中国言论自由的严峻现状，应坚定支持中国人民争取民主与人权的正义诉求，推动实现真正的政治变革与社会进步。
Xi Jinping Step Down
Author: Feng Reng
Editor: Luo Zhifei Executive Editor: Lu Huiwen Translation: Lu Huiwen
Summary:
At noon on August 7, in front of the Anti-Japanese War Memorial Hall in Kunming, Yunnan, a young man in a white shirt held up a sign reading “Xi Jinping Step Down” to express strong protest against the CCP’s authoritarian rule.
At noon on August 7, in front of the Anti-Japanese War Memorial Hall in Kunming, Yunnan, a young man in a white shirt held up a sign reading “Xi Jinping Step Down” to express strong protest against the CCP’s authoritarian rule.
Video footage from the scene shows the man, undaunted by police and security guards, holding the sign firmly as onlookers gathered. He was later taken away by riot police.
The incident once again reveals the Chinese public’s yearning for freedom of speech and the CCP regime’s heavy-handed suppression.
To better understand the background of this event, the author verified the authenticity and impact of similar protest incidents in recent years:
• January 2023, Protest in Central Wuhan
Although online claims suggested that a citizen draped in a banner reading “We Want Democracy, Freedom, and Ballots” gave a public speech and was taken away by police, the author found no official or credible media reports confirming this event. However, large-scale public protests against COVID lockdowns did occur in Wuhan from late 2022 to early 2023, with some demonstrators shouting slogans such as “Xi Jinping Step Down.”
• January 14, 2022, “Luohu Warrior” Incident at Shenzhen Luohu Port
The claim that a man held a sign reading “Down with Xi Jinping, Defend Reform and Opening-Up” and was taken away by police has no confirmed public reporting and may have been confused with other protests.
• October 13, 2022, Peng Lifa’s Protest on Beijing’s Sitong Bridge
This incident is confirmed. Peng Lifa hung banners on Sitong Bridge in Beijing calling for “No more COVID tests, we want food! No more lockdowns, we want freedom! Strike, walk out, remove the dictator and national traitor Xi Jinping!” He was then detained by police and remains missing. This protest is seen as the first direct public challenge to the CCP regime in Beijing since the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre.
• July 30, 2023, Banner Protest on an Overpass in Loudi, Hunan
This incident is real. A young man in Loudi, inspired by Peng Lifa, hung a similar banner on an overpass, calling for democracy and freedom. He was later detained.
• April 15, 2024, Mei Shilin’s Banner Protest in Chengdu, Sichuan
Mei Shilin hung a banner calling for political reform on the elevated road near Chadianzi Bus Station in Chengdu, after which he went missing and is believed to have been detained. The event spread widely and reflected the Chinese public’s demand for political reform.
These incidents vividly reflect the long-standing tensions in Chinese society and the people’s strong desire for democracy and freedom, as well as exposing the CCP regime’s deep fragility and fear beneath its façade of toughness.
As someone in exile who has long observed China’s democracy movement, I know well that the CCP’s fear of truth and suppression of independent thought are the foundations of its rule. This regime survives through lies and violence, viewing ordinary citizens as enemies, and can only maintain its so-called “stability” through brutal repression.
The fearless protest of the white-shirted warrior in Yunnan is a vivid portrayal of countless ordinary Chinese people’s inner yearning to break free from fear and pursue truth and freedom. As a witness far from my homeland, I call on the international community not to ignore the grim reality of freedom of speech in China, but to resolutely support the Chinese people’s just demands for democracy and human rights, and to help promote genuine political change and social progress.
