Explained: How China’s ‘Bridge Man’ has spurred protests against Xi Jinping across the world

A lone man in China has reportedly inspired protests around the world amid the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) congress this week.

Protest banners against Chinese president Xi Jinping and his government’s ‘zero-COVID’ policy had appeared in Beijing last week. However, the rare protest was soon quashed.

A man, whose identity remains unknown, had unfurled banners on a bridge in China’s capital Beijing accusing Xi of being a ‘dictator’, reports BBC.

He was detained soon after, however, the pictures of his act spread worldwide.

How has the rare protest in China panned out? How has it led to protest in other nations? What is China’s ‘zero-COVID’ policy? We examine.

Rare protest in China

Dubbed ‘Bridge Man’, the mystery protestor strung two large banners on the Sitong bridge in the Haidian district of Beijing on 13 October.

The man, who wore a construction helmet and shirt, shouted slogans into a loudspeaker and also kindled tyres, as per BBC.

These banners featured slogans calling for withdrawal of China’s zero-COVID policy and ouster of President Xi, reports Reuters.

“We want food, not PCR tests. We want freedom, not lockdowns. We want respect, not lies. We want reform, not a Cultural Revolution. We want a vote, not a leader. We want to be citizens, not slaves,” one of the banners said, as per The Guardian.

The Beijing authorities quickly removed the signs of the rare protest that came just days before the 20th Communist Party congress.

The reference to the incident was censored in China with all videos, images and key words such as “Haidian”, “Beijing protester” and “Sitong bridge” taken down from Chinese social media platforms, BBC reports.

Moreover, words like “hero”, “courage,” “Beijing” and “bridge” were also restricted.

The security in Beijing was enhanced following the incident with additional police personnel deployed at bridges in the city, as per BBC.

Since last week, the slogans against the Chinese government have ‘clandestinely’ appeared in at least eight Chinese cities including Shenzhen, Beijing and Guangzhou, as well as Hong Kong, according to VoiceofCN, a group of anonymous Chinese nationals who run a pro-democracy Instagram account, as per Bloomberg.

“Most students who put up the banners see it as a way to voice out our anger, which has been suppressed for so long by the government and its censorship machines,” an administrator for VoiceofCN told Bloomberg.

Some slogans also refer to the 1989 Tiananmen pro-democracy protests, which is a taboo topic in China.

“The spirit of 8964 will never be snuffed out,” said one of the graffiti on a public bathroom stall in Sichuan, as per BBC.

‘8964’ is a reference to the military crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square.

According to Bloomberg, bathrooms are becoming a key place to express dissent in China as they are exempt from the surveillance of security cameras.

Protest spreads to other countries

As per BBC, the messages similar to the Beijing bridge protest has reached several university campuses in the US, UK, Europe, Australia among others.

A handwritten sign at Colby College in Maine, US, reportedly hailed the mystery protestor, and said “We, people of China, want to spread this message that speaks our mind in places without censorship.”

There were also posters opposing Xi bearing the words “Not My President” and “Goodbye JinPing”, BBC reported.

The slogan “Not My President” had earlier cropped up in overseas universities when Xi struck down presidential term limits in 2018.

‘Bridge Man’ and ‘Tank Man’

Beijing’s ‘Bridge Man’ has been compared to ‘Tank Man’ who had stood in front of tanks during the Tiananmen protests.

Activists have expressed concern for the welfare of the ‘Bridge Man’.

“He’s been carted away just as the tank man was, and the tank man, to this day, we don’t know what happened to him,” Perry Link, editor of the ‘Tiananmen Papers’ and a professor at the University of California, US, told Bloomberg.

“This guy, too, might face that fate,” Link added.

As per Bloomberg, the professor also said that the Beijing protestor’s action can be a symbol of greater discontent in China.

China’s zero-COVID policy

China has a strict COVID-19 policy.

It adopted its ‘dynamic COVID-zero strategy’ during the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant.

This includes imposing several measures such as strict lockdowns, mass testing, and travel restrictions across different parts of the country.

Many have to get tested twice a week and get screened whenever they enter any building, as per Indian Express. 

Despite the criticism, China has defended its zero-COVID strategy.

A spokesperson for China’s Communist party said these government measures are “the most cost effective and have worked the best for our country”, reports Financial Times.

With inputs from agencies

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