Last Sunday, on November 16, in front of the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles, the headquarters of the Chinese Democratic Party held the 47th “Global Awakening” gathering, calling on the international community to pay attention to the systemic persecution under the authoritarian rule of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and sending out the call to the world to “Reject Dictatorship, Rebuild Free China”.
Despite the heavy rain of recent days, over sixty Chinese individuals from various parts of Southern California rushed to attend the assembly. They were in uniform attire, orderly and well-organized, holding banners and flags with slogans such as “Down with the Communist Party” and “Down with Xi Jinping”, chanting slogans like “Reject dictatorship” and “Free China” in front of the consulate.
During the gathering, more than a dozen members of the Chinese Democratic Party and human rights activists took the stage one by one, accusing the CCP of systemic persecution of the people over the past decade. Some spoke of loved ones being imprisoned for their words, experiencing disappearances; others lamented the suppression and monitoring faced by young activists in the “blank slate revolution”, revealing how Chinese society under the CCP has become a “community of fear”, where regular citizens are stripped of their most basic freedoms. It was also emphasized that the crisis created by the CCP is global in nature, with its infiltration and surveillance presenting a challenge to freedom and peace for all of humanity.
Secretary-General of the Chinese Democratic Party Headquarters, Li Zhiyang, introduced during his speech that the party officially released the “Anti-Xi Declaration” on October 19, calling it a “historic document issued for Chinese freedom”. He stated that the reason for the proclamation is that “when a regime silences the people, the country is already half-dead; when one person holds all power and the masses are silent, that is the extreme of tyranny”.
“Opposing Xi is not just personal sentiment, but rather the cry of the entire nation for freedom and dignity,” Li Zhiyang quoted from the declaration. “A ruler who destroys constitutionalism, censors speech, and persecutes beliefs, is unworthy to represent the Chinese nation… tyranny cannot endure, freedom will eventually return.”
He asserted that the significance of the declaration lies not only in exposing the CCP’s crimes under Xi’s rule over the past thirteen years but also in declaring to the world that the Chinese people are not silent slaves but are awakening and standing up as citizens.
Sun Ye, Vice Chairman of the Los Angeles branch of the Chinese Democratic Party Headquarters and one of the organizers of the event, stated that the release of this declaration is a clear declaration to the CCP that the people do not submit to tyranny and to the world that the Chinese people will not remain silent. Xi Jinping’s authoritarian rule, destroying the rule of law and trampling on human rights, has plunged the country further into fear and darkness.
He proclaimed that the voices of the people will not be forever extinguished. “Today, we will ignite the spark of democracy, awaken the dormant conscience; freedom will ultimately return to China.”
Many attendees believe that the release of the “Anti-Xi Declaration” is a crucial step for overseas Chinese to resist the CCP’s tyranny, a new era of anti-Communist manifesto, and another call for a free China.
Host Zhang Weiqing stated, “We believe: Truth will pierce through lies, conscience will triumph over fear, people will eventually awaken, and tyranny will be overthrown. The funeral bell of the CCP has already tolled; Xi Jinping will eventually be judged!”
Zhao Shuguang, one of the event organizers, expressed that ringing the bell of freedom is a clear declaration to the CCP regime that fear cannot rule people’s hearts, and lies cannot obscure the truth. “Every awakened person, every person who speaks out, is a seed of change.” He stated, “No matter how the CCP suppresses, how it blocks, we will continue to speak out: for imprisoned prisoners of conscience, for disappeared dissidents, for the Chinese people who cannot speak.”
For nearly an hour at the gathering, slogans such as “End dictatorship! Rebuild democratic China!”, “Release political prisoners!”, “People will not sleep forever!” echoed continuously. Many onlookers stopped to record videos in support of the organizers.
The event was co-hosted by the Chinese Democratic Party Headquarters in the Western United States, in the Southern United States, and the Freedom Bell Democracy Foundation.