A Chinese man staged a rare protest in China's Chongqing before the military parade in the country, using a hidden projector to do so.
The man, 43-year-old Qi Hong, who is a native of Chongqing, a city in southwestern China, had left the country in August, Reuters reported.
In an interview with the New York Times, Hong said that he had set up the projector and a surveillance camera inside a hotel room in August, before leaving China with his wife and daughters.
Using the projector, giant anti-Communist slogans were projected onto a skyscraper in Chongqing.
Some of the slogans allegedly said – “only without the Communist Party can there be a new China”, “down with red fascism, overthrow Communist tyranny” and “rise up, people who refuse to be slaves, rise up and resist to reclaim your rights.”
The incident took place on August 29, days before Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted world leaders for the military parade in Beijing. Purported clips of the slogans, which were projected on a skyscraper in Xijie, University City, Chongqing, went viral on social media.
{{/usCountry}}The incident took place on August 29, days before Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted world leaders for the military parade in Beijing. Purported clips of the slogans, which were projected on a skyscraper in Xijie, University City, Chongqing, went viral on social media.
{{/usCountry}}Overseas dissident Li Ying posted photos of the slogans on social media platform X, and a video of the protest, which was viewed 18 million times, Reuters reported citing a counter on X.
Hong said that the projector, along with the surveillance camera inside the hotel room, were being remotely operated by him from Britain. The camera had recorded the clip of the police personnel bursting into the hotel room.
The slogans were beamed on the building for about 50 minutes before the authorities before the police found the projector.
Inspired by 2022 banner protest, says Hong
Hong told the New York Times that he was inspired to project the slogans by previous protests, including the banner protest in Beijing in 2022, which was staged before a major meeting of the Communist party.
Hong said he was a migrant worker in southern China for many years, adding that he had been mistreated and detained by the police on several occasions. He later moved to Beijing and started a small e-commerce business.
He further said that his brother and mother had been threatened by the authorities following the incident.