Xi Jinping Visits the US Again: The Warning Left Behind in San Francisco
Author: Feng Reng
Abstract: Xi Jinping’s visit to the White House has once again drawn international attention to US-China relations, while also recalling the clashes between supporters and protesters during the 2023 APEC Summit in San Francisco. Different political stances should all be protected under the freedom of expression; however, whether supporting or opposing the Chinese government, violence, threats, and intimidation must not be tolerated.
On September 24, 2026, Xi Jinping will step into the White House once again. The White House has officially announced the itinerary: Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan will arrive in the United States on September 23, hold a state visit the following day, and attend a state dinner that evening.
For US-China relations, this is naturally a high-profile diplomatic event. However, as a Chinese person living in the United States, my focus is not limited to the talks inside the White House; I also recall the events that took place on the streets of San Francisco three years ago.
In November 2023, Xi Jinping traveled to San Francisco to attend the APEC Summit. At that time, large numbers of Uyghurs, Tibetans, Hong Kongers, and Chinese pro-democracy activists took to the streets in protest, while a massive crowd of supporters of Xi Jinping and the Chinese government also gathered to welcome him. The simultaneous presence of people holding differing political stances on the streets is not, in principle, an issue in the United States, as supporting or opposing a foreign government both fall under the freedom of expression.
The law permits people to support the Chinese government, and it also permits people to oppose the Chinese government. If a person waves the Five-Star Red Flag on the street, as long as they are peaceful and law-abiding, it is their right; if another person beside them holds up a sign criticizing Xi Jinping or criticizing the Chinese Communist Party, that is equally their right.
The issue has never been who is allowed to express themselves, but rather who attempts to deny the other side from expressing themselves.
Since coming to the United States, my understanding of this point has grown deeper and deeper. What is truly important for a society is not that everyone speaks with one voice, but that when people hold completely opposing views, the law still protects the right of both sides to speak. A person can disagree with my viewpoint, but they cannot, simply because they disagree, snatch away my sign, beat me, or threaten my family.
This is also why the term “transnational repression” has drawn increasing attention from American society in recent years.
So-called transnational repression, simply put, refers to a government extending its surveillance, intimidation, harassment, and even coercive measures against domestic dissidents beyond its borders. The United States Congress has held dedicated hearings, and the U.S. Department of Justice has continuously handled cases in recent years involving the overseas activities of the Chinese government. In 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the arrest of two individuals accused of engaging in secret operations in the United States on behalf of China’s Ministry of State Security. The Department of Justice explicitly stated that China’s Ministry of State Security undertakes overseas intelligence and political security missions. It must be emphasized that the criminal charges in these cases remain subject to final determination by the courts according to legal procedures.
Such matters are not far removed from California.
Liberty Sculpture Park, located in Yermo, Southern California, has also appeared in U.S. Department of Justice investigative documents. Federal investigators alleged that certain individuals were instructed to conduct surveillance on Chinese dissident artists, including secret photography, recording license plate information, and installing GPS tracking devices.
When these cases are viewed together, it becomes clear why what happened in San Francisco in 2023 cannot simply be understood as “two groups of Chinese people fighting on the street.”
If ordinary conflicts occur between people merely because of differing political stances, they should naturally be handled by the police as standard public security cases. However, if there is involvement behind the scenes by foreign government officials, intelligence agencies, or organizations directed and funded by them, the nature of the issue changes completely. It is no longer just a political dispute among Chinese people, but involves freedom of speech, public safety, and national sovereignty within the United States.
This is also the point I care about most when reading this material regarding Xi Jinping visiting the United States once again.
What took place in San Francisco three years ago has now left behind extensive video records, investigative reports, and government documentation. This time, as Xi Jinping comes to Washington, both those who welcome him and those who protest against him should receive the same legal protection. Supporting Xi Jinping is not a crime, nor is opposing Xi Jinping a crime; waving the Five-Star Red Flag is protected by the Constitution, and holding up signs criticizing the Chinese Communist Party is equally protected.
What truly needs to be prevented is any party bringing violence, threats, stalking, and intimidation into political expression, and under no circumstances should a foreign government be allowed to leverage its network of influence in the United States to replicate the domestic suppression of dissent onto American streets.
During Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States this time, the diplomacy inside the White House is, of course, important.
However, for many Chinese people outside the White House, there remains another question worth observing: Will what took place in San Francisco three years ago happen once again this time?
How the United States answers this question concerns not only Chinese dissidents, but also a more fundamental principle—after arriving on this land, can a person still speak freely based on their own views, without continuing to fear the power coming from another country?
Editor: Geoffrey Jin Proofreader: Wang Bin Translator: Ge Bing
Between the Red Carpet and the Iron Rods: The Street War in Washington Behind the 2026 Trump-Xi Summit
Reporter: Zhang Zhijun
From September 23 to 25, 2026, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the United States and held a summit in Washington with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Inside the White House were red carpets, gun salutes, military bands, and diplomatic meetings; outside the White House unfolded one of the largest anti-Xi Jinping protests seen in the U.S. capital in recent years.
Tibetans, Uyghurs, Hongkongers, Taiwan supporters, Chinese pro-democracy activists, Falun Gong practitioners, Christians, and other human rights organizations traveled to Washington from across the United States and even Canada. At the same time, large crowds of pro-Beijing welcomers holding five-star red flags also appeared along President Xi’s motorcade route, near his hotel, around the White House, and near the Chinese Embassy in the United States.
As the two opposing crowds came into continuous contact, shoving, snatched banners, physical altercations, and even violent assaults occurred one after another.
Controversies surrounding how these welcoming crowds were organized, whether they received funding from Chinese embassies, consulates, or pro-Beijing community organizations, and whether certain masked individuals maintained ties with Chinese officialdom quickly extended this political expression on American streets into a far more sensitive question: whether the Chinese government is extending its political pressure and methods of control targeting overseas dissidents directly onto U.S. soil.
After Xi Jinping arrived in the Washington region on September 23, welcomers and protesters had already begun assembling at the airport, around hotels, and along motorcade routes.
On the day of Xi’s arrival, pro-Beijing welcomers and anti-Xi protesters faced off across the street in several locations, forcing law enforcement to deploy officers between the two groups to maintain order.
On September 24, the protests reached their peak.
A large crowd of Tibetans gathered first near the Chinese Embassy in the United States, before moving toward Capitol Hill, the National Mall, and the perimeter of the White House. Public reports indicate that participants traveled from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Boston, Chicago, Toronto, and other regions.
At the scene, one could see Tibetan Snow Mountain Lion flags, East Turkestan flags, slogans from the Hong Kong democracy movement, and banners related to Taiwan, alongside chants from Chinese pro-democracy activists shouting slogans such as “Step Down, Xi Jinping!” and “Step Down, Communist Party!”
Former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and several U.S. members of Congress also appeared at events organized by certain Tibetan and human rights groups, publicly calling on the U.S. government to raise issues regarding Tibet, human rights, and transnational repression during talks with Xi Jinping.
Wang Dan, a leader of the 1989 Democracy Movement and founder of the June 4th Memorial Museum, participated in protests near the White House on behalf of the June 4th Memorial Museum and the “Dialogue China” think tank.
Wang Dan stated that taking to the streets of Washington this time was driven by three primary demands: opposing Xi Jinping’s autocratic rule implemented within China, opposing the Chinese Communist Party’s suppression of the democratization process, and demanding the release of political prisoners who remain incarcerated, including Jimmy Lai, Joshua Wong, and Xu Zhiyong.
He noted that because public voices of opposition are almost impossible to hear within China, Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States provides overseas protesters with a rare opportunity.
Wang Dan said they hope to deliver the sound of protest directly to where Xi Jinping can hear it, “to let him know that his regime does not enjoy the support of the people.”
He also stated that a consensus has formed among protest groups arriving in Washington from across the United States—wherever Xi Jinping goes, the voices of protest will follow.
On the same day, Wang Dan particularly emphasized that the overseas democracy movement must not focus its attention solely on Xi Jinping as an individual, but should continuously speak out for political prisoners who are incarcerated and suppressed inside China.
He expressed on social media platforms that one of the vital responsibilities of those living overseas is to constantly remind the world that people are still being imprisoned for pursuing freedom, justice, and fundamental rights. Therefore, another important purpose of this protest is to publicly call out the names of these political prisoners so that they are not forgotten by the world.
On the afternoon of the same day, prominent Chinese pro-democracy figures Wei Jingsheng, Wang Dan, and Wang Juntao jointly participated in a press conference held near the White House by the “National Conference on China”. This event further expanded the focus from “opposing Xi Jinping’s visit” to “what happens to China after Xi Jinping.”
In an announcement released prior to the event, the organizers stated that on the occasion of Xi Jinping’s visit to the White House, overseas pro-democracy figures would express their views regarding Xi Jinping’s political future and the future trajectory of China’s institutional system. The event was co-led by Wei Jingsheng, Wang Dan, and Wang Juntao.
In his speech that day, Wei Jingsheng put forward a judgment distinct from general “Anti-Xi” slogans.
He stated that even if Xi Jinping actually steps down, it does not mean China’s problems will end there.
In Wei Jingsheng’s view, the weakening or end of Xi Jinping’s personal power is not equivalent to the termination of the Chinese Communist Party’s one-party authoritarian system, nor does it mean a democratic system will automatically be established.
He argued that the true key to China’s future lies not merely in “removing Xi Jinping,” but in whether China can accomplish an institutional “rebirth” through political change.
Wei Jingsheng said that there are currently numerous rumors regarding changes in Xi Jinping’s power. Regardless of whether these reports are accurate, the societal sentiment that “the world has suffered under Xi for too long” is real. However, he simultaneously warned that if another CCP leader simply replaces Xi Jinping while maintaining the original political system, China could still return to the cycle of autocracy.
He posited that two paths could emerge for China’s future: one leading toward democracy and freedom, and the other continuing to maintain one-party dictatorship. The ultimate outcome will depend on the dynamic interplay among various forces within Chinese society and the international environment.
In other words, Wei Jingsheng pushed the target of this protest further—moving from “Xi Jinping Step Down” to “End One-Party Dictatorship and Establish a Democratic System.”
Wang Juntao, Chairman of the National Committee of the China Democracy Party, also participated in the protests that day.
The National Committee of the China Democracy Party, led by Wang Juntao, continuously organized party members to conduct protests near Joint Base Andrews, the White House, and President Xi Jinping’s hotel during his visit to the United States.
The China Democracy Party stated that participants followed Xi Jinping’s public itinerary for three consecutive days to conduct demonstrations, expressing their demands for human rights, democracy, and freedom in China through banners, signs, and slogans. Compared to targeting Xi Jinping solely as an individual, the actions of Wang Juntao and the China Democracy Party emphasized party politics and institutional alternatives.
This stance aligns with their long-standing position: the fundamental issue lies not merely with a single Chinese leader, but with China’s lack of genuine elections, multi-party competition, and checks and balances on power.
Consequently, during these protests in Washington, “Step Down, Xi Jinping!” and “Step Down, Communist Party!” simultaneously became among the most frequently chanted slogans by Chinese pro-democracy groups.
Meanwhile, sculptor Chen Weiming, founder of Liberty Sculpture Park who traveled to Washington from the U.S. West Coast, represented another approach to resistance.
Chen Weiming has long used large-scale public art and political sculptures to express criticism of the Chinese Communist Party regime. In recent years, Liberty Sculpture Park has created large-scale works such as “CCP Virus,” “Tank Man,” and “Xi Jinping Virus Head,” transforming China’s political persecution and historical memory into public art with strong visual impact.
During Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States, Chen Weiming led a team of volunteers from Liberty Sculpture Park to Washington to join the protests.
Speaking at the scene, he emphasized that overseas Chinese must not forget those who still suffer political persecution inside China simply because they themselves now live in a free society. In his view, protesting Xi Jinping is not merely a protest against an individual leader, but also a public challenge to a system maintained through fear, censorship, and political repression.
Chen Weiming’s approach was particularly symbolic.
The Liberty Sculpture Park team brought large black flags and visual elements—previously used in political art projects such as the “Xi Jinping Virus Head”—to the protest site, merging street demonstrations with political art.
For Chen Weiming, the sculpture itself forms an integral part of the protest.
He has stated on multiple occasions in the past that the significance of public art lies not only in commemorating victims, but also in preventing dictators from controlling the historical narrative. Thus, as Xi Jinping’s motorcade appeared in Washington, the Liberty Sculpture Park team sought to use massive flags and physical actions to create a visual scene completely distinct from the official welcoming ceremony—with red carpets and five-star red flags on one side, and public art documenting CCP tyranny on the other.
Although Chen Weiming, Wang Dan, Wei Jingsheng, and Wang Juntao belong to different generations and employ varied political strategies, their core assessment expressed during Xi Jinping’s U.S. visit was highly consistent: overseas protests must not remain limited to opposing a single visit or targeting Xi Jinping as an individual.
The true issue is the Chinese political system itself.
While high-level talks were held inside the White House, a completely different scene unfolded on the streets.
On one side were crowds supporting Xi Jinping and the Chinese government; on the other side were anti-Xi protesters from various ethnic backgrounds and political orientations. Police stood between the two sides to prevent larger-scale conflicts.
Controversies soon arose surrounding the organization of the pro-Beijing welcoming groups.
Prior to Xi Jinping’s visit, recruitment messages for welcoming groups were already circulating in certain Chinese WeChat groups and social media platforms.
Some recruitment notices claimed that participants would be provided with airfare, lodging, meals, and local transportation stipends, with a few messages even mentioning cash allowances.
Furthermore, some individuals participating in the welcoming events stated in interviews with Japanese media that they were “arranged” to attend the scene by the Chinese Consulate General.
These details led external observers to further suspect that some welcoming activities were not entirely spontaneous, but rather involved potential coordination and funding by Chinese embassies, consulates, pro-Beijing community associations, or other related organizations.
However, current public evidence remains insufficient to prove that all participants in the welcoming activities received payments from the Chinese government, nor can every person waving a five-star red flag be directly classified as an agent of the Chinese government.
A more accurate formulation is: public information indicates that there were at least organized recruitments providing transportation, lodging, and cash stipends, and certain participants personally stated to the media that they were arranged by the Consulate General.
A similar pattern has appeared before.
During Xi Jinping’s attendance at the San Francisco APEC summit in 2023, an investigation by The Washington Post using videos, WeChat chat logs, interviews, and identity verifications revealed that Chinese diplomatic missions in the U.S. were involved in coordinating certain welcoming activities and providing hotel, dining, and other support to some participants.
The investigation also found that multiple violent conflicts occurred on the streets of San Francisco between pro-Beijing figures and anti-Xi protesters at that time. Several anti-Xi activists were subjected to punches, pushes, attacks with flagpoles, and chemical sprays.
(Image provided by an eyewitness at the scene showing physical attacks by CCP-hired groups against protesters)
When similar welcoming groups, masked individuals, and street conflicts re-emerged in Washington in 2026, many overseas dissidents immediately recalled the events that occurred in San Francisco in 2023.
(Image showing a video screenshot: the CCP-hired personnel wore matching attire, baseball caps, sunglasses, and masks, carrying long black umbrellas. The screenshot shows a hired individual using an umbrella to strike a protester)
On the afternoon of September 24, physical altercations broke out at multiple locations near the White House.
Police subsequently intervened and arrested several individuals.
Public reports indicate that those arrested faced various charges, including simple assault, theft, and alleged assault on a police officer.
Another high-profile assault took place on the same day.
An anti-CCP female demonstrator stated that while filming at the scene, she was yanked and knocked down by pro-Beijing individuals before being mobbed by several people, resulting in damage to her cell phone. Police subsequently detained and arrested an individual suspected of involvement in the assault.
However, an even more controversial conflict unfolded near the Chinese Embassy in the United States.
From the night of September 24 into the early morning of September 25, a group of Chinese pro-democracy activists proceeded to the vicinity of the embassy to protest using projections and banners. Subsequently circulated video clips from the scene show multiple men rushing out from the Chinese Consulate/Embassy and engaging in physical altercations with the protesters.
(Image showing a video screenshot: Chinese Consulate security personnel using umbrellas, flagpoles, and other objects to attack protesters taking shelter on a vehicle)
(Image showing a video screenshot: A protester climbs onto a vehicle roof to escape an attack by Chinese Consulate security personnel)
People used pole-like objects at the scene; some protesters fell to the ground, and vehicles and equipment were damaged.
Participant Cai Xiaoli of the China Democracy Party stated that she was attacked with a metal pole, and video footage from the scene showed CCP consulate personnel carrying knives.
After the conflict ended, some individuals involved retreated in the direction of the Chinese Embassy.
(Image provided by an insider at the scene showing suspected Chinese Consulate security personnel who allegedly attacked protesters)
For this reason, multiple protesters alleged that those participating in the conflict may have included Chinese embassy staff, embassy security personnel, or individuals operating under instructions from the Chinese side. As of now, U.S. police, the State Department, and the FBI have not publicly confirmed the specific identities of these individuals.
Videos circulating online show an anti-Xi Jinping figure shouting anti-communist slogans in the designated event area before getting involved in physical pulling and shoving with surrounding welcoming crowds and security personnel.
Some Chinese-language media outlets referred to the individuals involved as “Chinese agents,” though as of now, there is likewise a lack of public judicial documents or formal identity confirmation from law enforcement agencies.
During Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States, a large number of protesters paid special attention to a group of masked individuals who repeatedly appeared at the scene.
Public video shows some personnel dressed in black or dark clothing, wearing masks, baseball caps, and sunglasses, and carrying large umbrellas.
Some personnel used umbrellas to block journalists and protesters from filming, while others photographed the faces of demonstrators at close range.
Many overseas Chinese political dissidents believe these actions exhibit clear characteristics of surveillance and intelligence gathering.
In recent years, the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI, and the U.S. Congress have publicly pointed out on multiple occasions that the Chinese government has been accused of exerting pressure on Chinese dissidents, human rights activists, and ethnic minority groups living in the United States through hometown associations, proxies, private investigators, online harassment, threats against family members, and illegal surveillance.
As Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States again coincided with large-scale photographing of protesters, lens blocking, stalking, altercations, and violent incidents, do these actions represent mere street conflicts between ordinary supporters and opponents, or is there a more systematic organization and command structure behind them?
The protests did not occur only in Washington. In cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco, Chinese pro-democracy activists, Tibetan human rights groups, and other organizations also held anti-Xi Jinping events.
In San Francisco, slogans calling for “Xi Jinping Step Down” and “Communist Party Step Down” appeared outside the Chinese Consulate-General.
In Los Angeles, protesters held rallies outside the Chinese Consulate-General to support the protest site in Washington and demand that American society pay attention to issues involving Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Chinese political prisoners.
The 2026 “Trump-Xi Summit” ultimately produced two completely different political scenes.
At the official diplomatic level, the U.S. government accorded Xi Jinping a high-specification reception, with the leaders of the U.S. and China discussing issues such as trade, Taiwan, artificial intelligence, and international security in an attempt to demonstrate that both nations retain the capacity to maintain high-level communication.
On the streets of America, however, an entirely different form of political expression unfolded simultaneously.
Thousands of protesters sought to remind American society: while conducting diplomatic and economic negotiations with China, one should not overlook the domestic human rights situation in China, nor the transnational repression the Chinese government is accused of committing against overseas dissidents.
On one side flew the five-star red flags.
On the other side were the Tibetan Snow Mountain Lion flags, East Turkestan flags, slogans from the Hong Kong democracy movement, banners related to Taiwan, and the anti-communist slogans of Chinese pro-democracy activists.
Police stood between both sides.
This was perhaps the most symbolically significant scene of the 2026 “Trump-Xi Summit.”
Xi Jinping hoped to use this visit to showcase China’s national power, international standing, and diplomatic influence.
Meanwhile, the protesters gathered on the streets of Washington, Los Angeles, and San Francisco attempted to make another story of China seen:
Political prisoners, religious persecution, Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and those who, despite having already left China, still fear having their faces photographed, their identities recorded, their families threatened, or even encountering violence on the streets of a democratic nation.
What the 2026 “Trump-Xi Summit” ultimately left behind was not merely a top-level summit between the United States and China.
It also left behind an unavoidable question for American society: To what extent can a foreign government extend its political mobilization, diplomatic networks, security apparatus, and pressure on dissidents onto U.S. territory?
If future investigations further confirm that Chinese embassies and consulates not only organized and funded welcoming activities, but that staff, security personnel, or individuals under instruction directly participated in attacking, monitoring, or intimidating protesters, the nature of the event will far exceed ordinary street conflicts.
It will touch upon foreign agent activities, the boundaries of diplomatic conduct, violent crime, and the issue of transnational repression that the United States has continuously monitored with high concern in recent years.
As of September 26, 2026, parts of the conflicts are still awaiting further investigation, and the identities of certain individuals involved have not yet been publicly confirmed by U.S. law enforcement agencies.
However, at least one point has become abundantly clear:
While Xi Jinping received the highest-specification diplomatic reception at the White House, thousands of people opposing his rule simultaneously stood on the streets of Washington.
The White House can roll out the red carpet.
Yet the voices beyond the red carpet did not disappear because of it.
Violent Suppression of Peaceful Protests During Xi’s 2026 Visit to the U.S.
Transnational Violence and Civic Awakening Under the Shadow of Totalitarianism
Author: Zhang Lei
During the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader’s visit to the United States on September 23, 2026, a large number of overseas Chinese pursuing freedom, democracy, and constitutionalism gathered spontaneously to launch a peaceful protest. On one side were peaceful demonstrators holding banners with the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and shouting demands for democracy; on the other side were black-clad thugs wearing trench coats, sunglasses, and masks, carrying concealed weapons. This peaceful expression, which should have been doubly protected by the U.S. Constitution and international human rights conventions, met with systematic violent suppression by CCP overseas organizations.
The scene tore off the disguise, proving a cold, hard fact: the CCP’s transnational repression is not only real, but has evolved into a highly organized and premeditated machinery of overseas violence. This is not only a deprivation of individual fundamental human rights, but also a direct provocation to the territorial sovereignty and rule of law of the free world.
I. The Logic of Fear: Totalitarian Exclusivity and the Alienation of Violence
Why would the CCP go to such lengths to ruthlessly suppress peaceful dissidents on free soil?
The root lies in the inherent logic of the totalitarian system: it absolutely cannot tolerate any opposing force outside its control. The voices raised by overseas Chinese strike directly at the fragile core of its governing legitimacy—it proves that even after escaping high walls and censorship, people’s pursuit of freedom remains burning hot. To nip this resistance in the bud, the crackdown displayed precise tactical division of labor:
1. Tactical Provocation and Incitement: Gangs of thugs systematically disrupted protest formations, using verbal provocations and physical collisions to create conflicts, intending to smear the peaceful nature of the demonstrators.
2. Weaponized Tools in Disguise: Thugs at the scene used collapsible metal flagpoles as concealed offensive weapons for stabbing, while using large national flags and umbrellas to cover up their violent acts.
Faced with a violent organization equipped with professional striking capabilities, the peaceful demonstrators—lacking experience in defense—instantly fell into a vulnerable and passive position.
II. Panoramic Surveillance in the Dark: The “Mysterious Men in Black” and the Chilling Effect
On the outer perimeter of the conflict moved a group of well-trained “mysterious men in black.” They wore no uniform, but maintained orderly formations and agile movements. Their function was extremely clear: serving as thugs on the front lines, and performing panoramic surveillance and data collection on the outer perimeter.
Wearing baseball caps, dark masks, sunglasses, and earpieces/walkie-talkies in unison, they gathered in small groups holding cameras to systematically photograph the faces of demonstrators. Common sense and logic dictate that no ordinary onlooker would adopt such abnormal attire to systematically gather others’ facial information. They were clearly carefully selected operatives dispatched overseas.
This behavior of strictly hiding their identities precisely reveals their inner vanity and fear:
1. Fear of Identity Exposure: Fear that once their true faces are exposed, it will trigger doxxing and expose their ugly double standard of “executing oppressive missions while sending their own families to the West to enjoy freedom”;
2. Fear of Legal Sanctions: Fear that their illegal intelligence gathering and violent acts will be submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and laws related to civil rights violations, leading to visa revocations and criminal prosecution.
This group of men in black is illegally replicating the totalitarian “panopticon” surveillance mechanism in the free world. They raise their camera lenses to create an invisible “chilling effect”—by “weaponizing” bloodlines and family ties, transforming control over individuals into unlimited deterrence against relatives far away, forcing overseas dissidents to choose self-censorship out of fear, thereby extending the tentacles of totalitarian control across the Pacific.
III. Double Stranglehold Online and Offline: Cyber Army Siege and Absurd Stigmatization
This systematic repression did not stop at the physical site, but extended along the digital world, forming a “double stranglehold” online and offline. When victims posted videos of the physical violence and surveillance by men in black on social media platforms, they were swiftly met with swarm-like attacks from CCP “water armies” and “Little Pinks.”
They frantically smeared and attacked in the comment sections, offering absurd justifications: either slandering demonstrators as “taking money from anti-China forces” or “performing just for money,” claiming they were descendants of corrupt officials or heavy-sentence convicts who fled mainland China; or slapping on ideological labels like “traitors” and “renegades” who forgot their ancestors; or even in the face of ironclad video evidence, claiming with eyes wide open that “the videos were edited, dubbed, and faked” or “it’s all staged,” or taking a fence-sitting stance claiming that neither side was “good.”
This online siege is essentially an extension tactic of physical repression overseas. Its core purpose is to deconstruct a serious political oppression event into a “vulgar farce meant to attract attention” by generating mudslinging narrative noise, thereby confusing the public, eroding sympathy, subjecting speakers to secondary psychological bullying and deterrence, and thoroughly snuffing out the public sphere for overseas dissidents.
IV. Awakening and Response: Shadows End at the Border of the Rule of Law
The CCP’s overseas infiltration and transnational repression represent an open provocation to the rule of law and human rights in the free world. The leadership and law enforcement agencies of Western democratic nations must pay high attention to this and effectively use legal weapons to curb illegal enforcement actions by foreign authoritarian regimes on their territory.
However, tyranny believes that violence and surveillance can break the psychological line of defense—this completely underestimates faith in freedom. We paid a heavy price to reach this land not only to express our individual demands, but also to cry out on behalf of hundreds of millions of compatriots inside the high walls who have been deprived of their voice.
Faced with transnational repression, the most powerful response is never backing down, but transforming panic into organized, methodical, and targeted empowerment:
1. Accurate Recording and Evidence Submission: Remember the “three key elements” of evidence collection (facial close-ups, vehicle license plates, and time/location); completely record the video footage and violent details of the black-clad thugs; and proactively submit them to the U.S. FBI, DHS, and local police to strip away their protective coat of safety;
2. Uphold the Rule of Law and Refuse Silence: Use facts and public speech to break the self-censorship brought on by invisible surveillance, defending the constitutional order and human rights baseline of a free society.
The black hand of totalitarianism may reach across the Pacific, but the rule of law defense line and the spirit of civic resistance in a free society will never retreat. The shadow of totalitarianism will inevitably end at the boundary of sunlight and the rule of law.
A Joint Declaration of Forces for Justice Worldwide
A Strong Protest Against Dictator Xi Jinping’s Threat to the Free and Democratic World
His actions outrage humanity and heaven alike. Heaven will bring down the Chinese Communist Party!
By Liu Leyuan
The world has reached a critical moment in the struggle between light and darkness. While countless Chinese people suffer under oppression and public anger rises across China, Xi Jinping—the Chinese Communist Party’s usurper and totalitarian dictator—seeks to visit the United States. His visit is an affront to the basic standards of human civilization, a grave provocation to the free and democratic world, and an insult to all who have died under CCP tyranny.
We therefore issue an urgent call to Chinese people around the world and to all who value freedom, democracy, human rights and justice: Act now. Stand up. Let our voices thunder through the darkness and shatter the CCP’s authoritarian lies. Let an unstoppable movement of resistance bring this regime’s century of wrongdoing to an end.
I. Dictatorship has turned China into a living hell
Since Xi Jinping seized power and strengthened his personal dictatorship, the CCP has revived some of history’s worst forms of totalitarian rule. Under the false banner of “national rejuvenation,” it has driven the country backward. Across China, the party has imprisoned and persecuted countless dissidents, human rights lawyers and prisoners of conscience. It has used the machinery of the state to persecute Falun Gong practitioners, Christians and other people of faith. We accuse it even of organ harvesting—an atrocity of staggering scale. In Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong, it has imposed ruthless repression, turning Hong Kong, once known as the Pearl of the Orient, into a place of fear and surveillance.
Economically, the CCP has advanced state control at the expense of private enterprise and extracted wealth from ordinary people. Businesses have declined, young people face unemployment and despair, and countless families have been torn apart. To preserve its increasingly fragile rule, the party has used big data, artificial intelligence and pervasive surveillance cameras to build a digital iron curtain around 1.4 billion people. On the Chinese mainland, people have been denied the right to speak, the right to believe and even the dignity needed to live. This regime is pushing the Chinese nation into a dark abyss.
II. The regime extends its reach overseas and threatens freedom worldwide
The CCP’s wrongdoing does not stop at China’s borders. It has extended its authoritarian reach abroad. Through the Belt and Road Initiative, it uses economic coercion and debt to gain influence over developing countries. It has established secret police stations in free societies and, we allege, intimidated, followed and even targeted dissidents for assassination across borders. Through front organizations and compromised political and business figures in the West, it conducts political interference and espionage.
The CCP also uses propaganda and information warfare to distort the truth and influence international opinion. It builds alliances abroad and, in our view, supports terrorism and aggressive regimes in an effort to overturn an international order founded on universal values. History and current events show the danger it poses. If the international community remains silent and continues to accommodate this regime, the suffering seen in China today may become a catastrophe for the wider world tomorrow.
III. The CCP is not China, and the movement to reject its rule cannot be stopped
We must say clearly to the world: The CCP is not China, and its regime has no right to speak for the Chinese people. It is a Marxist-Leninist force that has attached itself to the Chinese nation and maintains its rule through lies and violence. The Chinese people are not accomplices to its abuses; they are their principal victims. China’s 1.4 billion people also long for dignity, the rule of law, human rights and hope.
From the White Paper Movement to continuing acts of public resistance, people have shown their anger with the regime. The CCP’s rule will not last forever. Those who commit injustice will ultimately face judgment. In the face of the dictator’s visit, we must stand against him.
We therefore make the following demands:
End Xi Jinping’s personal dictatorship and totalitarian rule.
Stop the CCP’s authoritarian abuses from threatening human civilization and the international order.
Condemn the CCP’s persecution of human rights, religious belief, free speech and press freedom, and hold those responsible accountable.
Expose the CCP’s lies and reveal how it deceives, controls and persecutes the people.
Stand firmly with everyone who has suffered persecution, including human rights defenders and others who speak out for justice.
Call on the international community to reject complicity and refuse to remain silent in the face of CCP repression.
Fellow Chinese people and friends of justice: However long the darkness lasts, it cannot prevent the dawn. Let us stand together and build a powerful movement against tyranny.
Tyranny will fall. Freedom will prevail. The end of CCP rule is in sight!
An Open Letter to Xi Jinping, Leader of the Chinese Communist Party
Dear Mr. Xi Jinping,
As you are about to visit the United States, we, representing Chinese pro-democracy activists based in San Francisco, solemnly present to you and the authorities of the Chinese Communist Party our five democratic demands:
1. End One-Party Rule!
The Chinese people should have the right to determine their country’s political system and choose their national leaders. The long-standing monopoly of political power by the Chinese Communist Party must come to an end.
2. Establish Constitutional Democracy!
China should follow the global trend toward democracy and establish a political system based on constitutional democracy, including free elections, checks and balances, judicial independence, and the nationalization of the military. The fundamental freedoms of speech, the press, publication, religion, and association must be fully protected.
3. Release Political Prisoners!
Immediately release all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience who have been detained or persecuted for peacefully expressing their political views, pursuing democracy and freedom, or defending human rights.
4. Stop Transnational Repression!
Stop threatening, harassing, monitoring, and suppressing Chinese pro-democracy activists, dissidents, and their family members overseas. Respect the fundamental rights and personal safety of overseas Chinese.
5. Stop the Expansion of Authoritarianism!
Stop extending political repression and authoritarian practices beyond China’s borders. Respect the universal principles and values of freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law upheld by the international community.
We believe that a country’s recognition and respect in the international community should not be measured by the concentration of state power, but by whether its people have the freedom to choose their own future.
We call upon the Chinese Communist Party authorities to respond to the demands of the Chinese people in a peaceful and rational manner and to listen to the voices of the people in accordance with the demands of our times.
Representatives of Chinese Pro-Democracy Activists in San Francisco
China Democracy Party’s Hawaii Branch Holds Peaceful Rally to Protest Xi Jinping’s Visit to the United States
By Wang Lihua
HONOLULU — In response to protests organized by democracy advocates in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere in the United States during Xi Jinping’s visit, the Hawaii branch of the China Democracy Party held a peaceful rally at 3 p.m. on September 20 in front of the Sun Yat-sen statue at Chinatown Cultural Plaza in Honolulu. About 10 party members and members of the Chinese community took part.
The rally was jointly organized by party members Zhang Xiaoju, Lü Bin and Meng Jiahu, among others. Participants displayed a banner and delivered speeches at the statue, voicing their demands on China’s political system, human rights, transnational repression and peace across the Taiwan Strait.
The gathering was solemn but spirited. Participants chanted “Dictator, go home,” “Put Xi Jinping on trial,” “Democracy and freedom belong to everyone,” and “Release prisoners of conscience; stop the repression.” The chants expressed their opposition to Xi’s style of governance and the Chinese Communist Party’s one-party rule.
Group photo of the participants.
Opposing concentrated personal power and calling for democracy and the rule of law in China
Addressing Xi’s rule and China’s prospects for democratization, the organizers said that his long tenure and the further concentration of power had brought the lack of oversight and checks and balances in China’s political system back into focus for overseas democracy advocates. Participants argued that ending one-party rule and establishing constitutional democracy and checks on power were necessary to protect the basic rights of Chinese citizens.
After the chants, Lü Bin was the first to speak. He said freedom, democracy and basic human rights are values shared by all humanity and should not be taken away at the discretion of those in power. He stressed that overseas democracy advocates oppose a political system characterized by one-party rule and highly concentrated personal power, rather than China or its people.
Lü said that since Xi took office, political space in China had continued to narrow, while civil society, press freedom and freedom of expression had come under severe pressure. In his view, this has harmed ordinary Chinese people and contributed to China’s growing diplomatic isolation. He urged the U.S. government and the international community to place human rights, the rule of law and civil liberties at the center of their diplomatic agenda when engaging with China, alongside trade and geopolitical concerns.
Lü Bin delivers a speech.
Calling for the unconditional release of women detained in Hong Kong
As the rally continued, participants chanted “Release prisoners of conscience; stop the repression” and “Release Hong Kong’s prisoners of conscience,” turning their attention to people detained in Hong Kong for political reasons, particularly women.
Party member Li Yi then spoke about women she described as prisoners of conscience in Hong Kong, including Chow Hang-tung, former vice-chair of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China. Li said these women had been imprisoned for organizing or participating in peaceful civic activities and expressing differing political views. She described their experiences as evidence of a sharp decline in civil liberties and political space in Hong Kong.
Li said that Chow and many other Hong Kong women facing repression had been silenced for now, and that overseas Chinese therefore had a responsibility to carry their voices to the world. She stressed that the rally was both a protest against Xi’s visit and a public show of support for Hong Kong’s political prisoners and prisoners of conscience. She urged the international community to maintain pressure on Beijing and seek the release of everyone detained for peaceful expression.
Li Yi speaks at the rally.
Examining concentrated power and the risks of internal conflict
The discussion then turned to the concentration of power and internal struggles within the Chinese Communist Party. Several participants argued that Xi had consolidated power over the years, eroding what limited internal oversight and checks had existed and intensifying struggles within the party.
Zhu Jiangzhou put his view bluntly: “Xi Jinping’s defining trait is his intense concern with power, and he is highly skilled at internal party struggles. Since taking office, he has eliminated dissenting voices within the party and concentrated power in his own hands. On the surface, he appears to have consolidated his rule. In reality, internal tensions have continued to build. In the past, at least some differing views could be heard within the party. Now, people are afraid to speak and simply watch him for cues.”
Zhu warned that when a political party operates according to one person’s will, apparent calm can conceal deep tensions. “The tighter his grip on power, the more stable things may appear. But if a major crisis occurs, there may be no one inside the system capable of managing the aftermath,” he said. In his view, such centralization would aggravate the party’s internal problems and could lead to unexpected political upheaval.
He concluded: “If a party has room for only the dictator’s voice, it has already decayed from within. The fiercer the internal struggles become, the greater the price it will eventually pay.”
Hong Kong, Taiwan and regional peace
Wearing a T-shirt bearing the words “Chinese Parliament,” organizer Zhang Xiaoju compared the political climate under Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao with the situation today. He argued that Xi’s pursuit of highly centralized power had set back democracy, human rights and the rule of law in China.
Zhang said Hong Kong’s freedoms, rule of law and space for civil society had been severely eroded, while democracy advocates and ordinary residents had repeatedly faced arrest and prosecution. He attributed Hong Kong’s current difficulties to Beijing’s tighter political control.
On Taiwan, Zhang said Beijing was seeking to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait through military intimidation, threatening the Taiwanese people’s right to choose their own future. Taiwan’s future, he said, must be decided by its people, and no government has the right to impose its will by force.
Zhang said the China Democracy Party’s work overseas aims to oppose one-party rule and concentrated personal power while promoting constitutional democracy, judicial independence and effective oversight of those in power. He warned that continued centralization at home and a confrontational approach abroad would deepen domestic repression and pose a major challenge to regional peace.
“We may not be able to stop this visit, but we want American society to see that although Xi Jinping has come to the United States, the Chinese people’s call for freedom and democracy will not be silenced,” Zhang said. “Neither Hong Kong nor Taiwan should become a casualty of one person’s expansion of power.”
Zhang Xiaoju leads party members in chanting “Dictator, go home.”
Protest demands read aloud as peaceful rally concludes
After the speakers finished, participants again chanted “Dictator, go home,” “Remove Xi Jinping, the dictator who has betrayed the country,” and “Democracy is no crime; long live freedom.”
An organizer then read the protesters’ demands on behalf of those present. They called on the Chinese government, led by Xi, to release all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience immediately and unconditionally, and to respect and protect freedom of speech, religion and association. They also urged the U.S. government and the international community to uphold their principles in diplomatic engagement with Beijing and make human rights and the rule of law central to their agenda.
The rally ended peacefully and in an orderly manner.
China Democracy Party members who attended included Zhang Xiaoju, Meng Jiahu, Li Yi, Lü Bin, Wang Lihua, Zhao Xianxiao, Zhu Jiangzhou, Que Meijiao and Long Junhong, among others.
