cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/41571894
Before fleeing China, an activist in Chongqing staged an elaborate one-man demonstration against the Communist Party that doubled as performance art.
On the eve of China’s grand military parade, an activist in a city with 30 million people staged a protest that doubled as performance art, proof that defiance can still surface, and survive, even in one of the world’s most surveilled states.
At 10 p.m. on Friday in Chongqing, a large projection on a building lit up the night with slogans calling for the end of Communist Party rule. “Only without the Communist Party can there be a new China,” read one. Another declared: “No more lies, we want the truth. No more slavery, we want freedom.”
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By the time the police arrived, Mr. Qi had already left China nine days earlier with his wife and daughters. He had turned on the projection and recorded the police’s response from a remote location in Britain.
Technology has strengthened the Chinese government’s ability to control its people. Mr. Qi illustrated how the same tools can enable resistance.
“Qi Hong outwitted the police, outmaneuvered the state machinery — and there was little they could do about it,” said Li Ying, who runs perhaps the most influential Chinese-language X account and often posts protest footage. “It was incredibly cool.”
Mr. Li called the act “a serious blow” to the authorities who had poured enormous resources into ensuring stability ahead of the parade on Wednesday. “His action showed that the C.C.P.’s control isn’t airtight. It’s not like we can’t do anything,” he said.
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Mr. Qi said he had never thought of his act as art or even bravery.
“My only intention was to express myself,” he told me in his first media interview. “The party installs surveillance cameras to watch us. I thought I could use the same method to watch them.”
Many people online called him a hero and offered their thanks. Some commenters said Mr. Qi’s ingenuity in using technology had inspired them.
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Mr. Qi insists he is not courageous. Soft-spoken, he said he felt compelled to share what he thinks and to urge more Chinese people to see what he called the brutality and absurdity of the Communist Party’s rule.
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Mr. Qi worked as an electrician and grew more politically aware. He bristled at the propaganda in his daughters’ textbooks, the government’s stoking of nationalism and the suppression of free speech. “I was dissatisfied with the government, but I didn’t dare to speak out,” he said.
He turned to books for answers. He read “1984,” “Animal Farm” and “Brave New World.” “I was terrified that they’re still ruling us the same way,” he said.
His WeChat posts became more pointed. On the 33rd anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre in 2022, he wrote: “The pursuit of light is something every thinking human should strive for. Light of wisdom, light of civilization, light of humanity, light of democracy.” His New Year wish for 2024 was simple: “May everyone have freedom from fear.”
In May, he posted what he assumed would get his WeChat account deleted, “We want democracy, not dictatorship!” Nothing happened. But for him, the words were a turning point.
By July, with news of Mr. Xi’s planned military parade, Mr. Qi decided it was time.
He surveyed locations and chose a busy section of Chongqing’s university area. On Aug. 10, he checked into a hotel, spent 10 days practicing laser projection on a nearby high-rise and prepared the slogans he would beam into the night sky. To test, he beamed harmless phrases like “be healthy” and “be happy.” Then he and his family left China.
On Aug. 29, he switched on the projector remotely. He clipped together footage of the slogans and the police raid, shared them with influential people online like Mr. Li and watched as they spread across the internet.
The state struck back. The police detained one of his brothers and a friend, and interrogated his mother outside her home. He had told no one about his plans except his wife and daughters. The Chongqing police did not respond to my request for comment.
Mr. Qi says he’s stunned by the reactions online and is unsure of what lies ahead.