《在野党》特刊 缪青报道
公开信实名签署人：缪青、陈森锋、张继顺、关永杰、庄帆（从左到右）
【旧金山报道】 2026年9月19日下午5时（美国太平洋时间），在中共党魁习近平即将访问美国之际，数名居住在旧金山湾区的中国民主人士在中国驻旧金山总领事馆前举行公开信发布及实名签字活动，向习近平及中共当局公开提出“结束一党专政、实行宪政民主、释放政治囚犯、停止跨国镇压、停止极权扩张”五项诉求。
参加活动并在公开信上实名签署的民主人士包括：陈森锋（中国民主党党员）、缪青（中国民主党党员）、关永杰（北京之春记者）、庄帆（中国民主党党员）、张继顺（中国民主党党员）。
公开宣读与实名签字
活动开始后，中国民主党党员同时也是此次《五项诉求公开信》撰稿人和倡议发起人之一的缪青，现场宣读了公开信。
随后，参加者依次报出自己的姓名，并在公开信上郑重签字。完成签字后，五名参与者分别手持签名后的公开信进行视频记录。
组织者表示，通过公开报出姓名、实名签字以及影像记录，希望使这次行动不仅是一份书面声明，也是一次具有明确身份和公开责任的政治表达。
公开信提出，中国人民应当拥有决定国家政治制度和国家领导人的权利，并主张建立以宪政民主为基础的政治制度，包括自由选举、权力制衡、司法独立和军队国家化；同时要求保障言论、新闻、出版、信仰和结社自由。
在政治权利之外，公开信还特别关注政治犯、良心犯以及海外中国人士的处境，要求释放因和平表达政治观点、追求民主自由及维护人权而遭受关押和迫害的人士，并要求停止针对海外民主人士、异议人士及其家属的威胁、骚扰、监控和打压。
现场签字
五项诉求的现实背景
此次活动举行之际，中美关系仍处于高度关注状态。中共外交部9月21日宣布，应美国总统特朗普邀请，习近平将于9月23日至25日对美国进行国事访问。中方表示，两国领导人将就中美关系以及世界和平与发展等重大问题交换意见。
路透社报道，此次峰会预计涉及贸易、人工智能、关键矿产、台湾以及其他中美关系议题，是两国领导人今年第二次会晤。
在这一外交背景下，旧金山民主人士选择在习近平访美前夕发表公开信，将中国政治改革、人权以及海外中国人士安全等问题作为公开表达的重点。
其中，“停止跨国镇压”近年来已经成为美国社会讨论中国问题的一个重要议题。美国司法部2022年曾公布多起相关案件，指控中国政府有关人员或其代理人涉嫌在美国境内针对中国异议人士、民主倡导者等实施跟踪、骚扰、监控或其他压制活动。
2023年，美国司法部又宣布起诉40名中国公安部人员及其他人员，指控其涉嫌通过虚假社交媒体账号骚扰、恐吓居住在美国的中国异议人士，并试图压制相关人士的言论。上述案件中的指控属于司法程序中的指控，被告的法律责任须以法院最终裁判为准。
因此，此次公开信将“停止跨国镇压”列为五项诉求之一，也反映了部分海外中国民主人士长期关注这一问题。
缪青：让海外民主声音进入公共视野
作为公开信撰稿人和倡议发起人之一，缪青表示，此次行动并不只是一次个人表达，而是希望将旧金山部分民主人士长期以来对中国政治、人权和自由问题的关注，通过公开信的方式集中表达出来。
他说，希望“把个人的诉求汇聚成共同的声音，把对现实的关切转化为对未来中国政治制度的公开讨论”。
旧金山是美国重要的华人聚居区，也是中国大陆民主运动及海外华人政治活动较为活跃的地区之一。近年来，湾区华人社群围绕中国人权、民主、香港、新疆、西藏以及跨国镇压等议题举行过不同形式的集会、游行和纪念活动。
此次活动选择中国驻旧金山总领事馆前作为公开信发布地点，也使行动具有明确的象征意义——参与者希望通过面对中国外交机构的公开表达，将其诉求直接传递给中国政府，同时也希望借助美国公共空间和媒体环境，使相关议题进入更广泛的公众讨论。
关永杰：香港经历成为重要参照
近期多次发起声援香港政治犯活动的关永杰携相关声援标语来到现场。他在讲话中表示，自己认为“一党专政”及政治压制不仅影响中国大陆，也会产生境外影响，并以香港近年来的政治环境变化作为例证。
关永杰特别提到多名香港民主派人士及政治案件，并表示这些经历进一步强化了他对公开信五项诉求的认同。
他同时谈到台湾问题，认为香港的发展值得台湾社会关注，并主张台湾社会对“一国两制”等政治安排保持警惕。
张继顺：带着高智晟油画参加活动
张继顺当天特别携带一幅高智晟律师的大型油画参加活动。
他说，自己近期重新阅读高智晟有关中国政治权力结构的文字，对权力集中、制度约束以及普通民众政治参与等问题产生了新的思考。
张继顺表示，这也是他参与此次“五项诉求”活动的重要原因之一。他认为，公开信提出的不同问题最终都指向一个基本问题，即权力是否受到制度约束，人民是否拥有表达意见、参与公共事务和保障自身权利的空间。
他说，带着高智晟的油画来到现场，也是希望让更多人重新关注高智晟及其多年前提出的相关问题。
公开信强调和平、理性表达
公开信最后表示，一个国家是否得到国际社会的认可与尊重，“不在于国家权力的集中，而在于人民是否拥有自由选择自己未来的权利”。
签署者呼吁中共当局以和平、理性的方式倾听并回应人民诉求。
从活动形式来看，此次行动没有采取封闭会议或匿名声明的方式，而是由五名参与者公开报出姓名、实名签字并面对镜头展示公开信。组织者表示，这种方式旨在强调参与者愿意为自己的公开表达承担个人身份上的责任。
随着习近平此次美国之行临近，中美两国领导人将围绕双边关系及一系列国际问题展开会谈。与此同时，旧金山民主人士通过公开信提出的五项诉求，则将中国政治制度、人权以及海外中国人士所关注的问题带入这一特殊时间节点的公共讨论之中。
公开信落款为“旧金山民主人士（实名）”，日期为2026年9月19日17时（美西时间）
《五项诉求》倡仪人：陈森锋
《五项诉求》倡仪人：缪青
《五项诉求》倡仪人：关永杰
《五项诉求》倡仪人：庄帆
《五项诉求》倡仪人：张继顺
《五项诉求》倡仪书原稿
活动现场
编辑：冯仍 校对：冯仍
San Francisco Democracy Advocates Release and Sign Open Letter with “Five Demands” Ahead of Xi Jinping’s U.S. Visit
Opposition Party Special Edition | Reported by Miao Qing
SAN FRANCISCO — At 5 p.m. Pacific time on September 19, 2026, as Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping prepared to visit the United States, several Chinese democracy advocates living in the San Francisco Bay Area gathered outside the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco to release and sign an open letter under their real names.
The letter presented five demands to Xi and the Chinese Communist Party authorities: end one-party rule, establish constitutional democracy, release political prisoners, stop transnational repression and halt the expansion of authoritarianism.
The participants who signed the letter were Chen Senfeng, Miao Qing, Zhuang Fan and Zhang Jishun, all members of the China Democracy Party, and Guan Yongjie, a reporter for Beijing Spring.
Public reading and signatures
Miao Qing, a China Democracy Party member who helped draft and initiate the “Five Demands” open letter, read it aloud at the event.
The participants then stated their names one by one and signed the letter. Afterward, each of the five held up the signed document for a video recording.
The organizers said that stating their names publicly, signing the letter and recording the event on video were intended to make the action more than a written statement. They wanted it to be a political expression made openly by identifiable individuals who accepted responsibility for their words.
The letter states that the Chinese people should have the right to decide their country’s political system and choose its leaders. It calls for a system based on constitutional democracy, including free elections, checks and balances, judicial independence and a military that serves the state rather than a political party. It also calls for freedom of speech, the press, publication, religion and association.
The letter further addresses the treatment of political prisoners, prisoners of conscience and Chinese people overseas. It demands the release of those detained or persecuted for peacefully expressing political views, pursuing democracy and freedom, or defending human rights. It also calls for an end to threats, harassment, surveillance and intimidation directed at overseas democracy advocates, dissidents and their families.
The context behind the five demands
The event took place amid continued attention to U.S.–China relations. On September 21, China’s Foreign Ministry announced that Xi would make a state visit to the United States from September 23 to 25 at the invitation of U.S. President Donald Trump. The ministry said the two leaders would exchange views on U.S.–China relations and major issues concerning world peace and development.
Reuters reported that the summit was expected to cover trade, artificial intelligence, critical minerals, Taiwan and other issues in the bilateral relationship. It would be the leaders’ second meeting of the year.
Against this diplomatic backdrop, the San Francisco participants chose to publish their letter ahead of Xi’s visit, drawing attention to political reform in China, human rights and the safety of Chinese people overseas.
Transnational repression has become a prominent issue in U.S. discussions about China in recent years. In 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice announced several cases alleging that Chinese government personnel or their agents had stalked, harassed, monitored or otherwise sought to suppress Chinese dissidents and democracy advocates in the United States.
In 2023, the department announced charges against 40 officers of China’s Ministry of Public Security and other individuals. Prosecutors alleged that they had used fake social media accounts to harass and intimidate Chinese dissidents living in the United States and to suppress their speech. These are allegations made in judicial proceedings; the defendants’ legal responsibility is subject to the courts’ final rulings.
The inclusion of “stop transnational repression” among the five demands reflects an issue that some overseas Chinese democracy advocates have followed for years.
Miao Qing: Bringing overseas democracy advocates’ voices into public view
Miao Qing, one of the letter’s authors and initiators, said the event was intended to do more than express an individual position. He hoped the letter would bring together concerns that some San Francisco democracy advocates have long held about politics, human rights and freedom in China.
He said he wanted to “bring individual demands together into a shared voice and turn concern about present realities into an open discussion about China’s future political system.”
San Francisco has a large Chinese community and has long been a center of activity for Chinese democracy advocates and politically engaged Chinese Americans. In recent years, Bay Area community members have held rallies, marches and commemorations addressing human rights and democracy in China, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Tibet and transnational repression.
Holding the event outside the Chinese Consulate General also carried symbolic meaning. By speaking in front of a Chinese diplomatic office, the participants hoped to convey their demands directly to the Chinese government. They also hoped that the public space and media environment in the United States would bring the issues to a wider audience.
Guan Yongjie: Hong Kong as a point of reference
Guan Yongjie, who has recently organized several events in support of Hong Kong political prisoners, brought signs expressing that support to the gathering.
In his remarks, Guan said he believed one-party rule and political repression affect not only mainland China but also areas beyond it. He cited changes in Hong Kong’s political environment in recent years as an example.
Guan mentioned several Hong Kong pro-democracy figures and political cases, saying their experiences had strengthened his support for the letter’s five demands.
He also discussed Taiwan. In his view, developments in Hong Kong deserve the attention of Taiwanese society, which he said should remain alert to political arrangements such as “one country, two systems.”
Zhang Jishun: Bringing a portrait of Gao Zhisheng
Zhang Jishun brought a large oil portrait of lawyer Gao Zhisheng to the event.
Zhang said he had recently reread Gao’s writings on the structure of political power in China. They prompted him to think again about concentrated power, institutional restraints and ordinary citizens’ participation in politics.
Zhang said these questions were among his reasons for joining the event. In his view, the issues raised in the letter ultimately lead to a basic question: whether power is constrained by institutions and whether people have room to express their views, take part in public affairs and defend their rights.
He said bringing Gao’s portrait was also a way to encourage more people to pay attention to Gao and the questions he raised years ago.
A call for peaceful and reasoned dialogue
The letter concludes that a country earns international recognition and respect “not through the concentration of state power, but through whether its people have the freedom to choose their own future.”
The signatories call on the Chinese Communist Party authorities to listen and respond to the people’s demands peacefully and rationally.
The five participants stated their names publicly, signed the letter under their real names and displayed it on camera. The organizers said this approach showed the participants’ willingness to take personal responsibility for their public expression.
As Xi’s U.S. visit approached, the leaders of the United States and China were expected to discuss bilateral relations and a range of international issues. Through their open letter, the San Francisco participants sought to bring China’s political system, human rights and the concerns of Chinese people overseas into the public discussion at that moment.
The letter is signed “San Francisco Democracy Advocates (Real Names)” and dated 5 p.m. Pacific time, September 19, 2026.
Initiator of the “Five Demands”: Chen Senfeng.
Initiator of the “Five Demands”: Miao Qing.
Initiator of the “Five Demands”: Guan Yongjie.
Initiator of the “Five Demands”: Zhuang Fan.
Initiator of the “Five Demands”: Zhang Jishun.
Original draft of the “Five Demands” open letter.
Scene at the event.
Editor: Feng RengProofreader: Feng Reng
Translator:Lyu Feng
