In October 2022, Peng Lifa, who hung banners against the authoritarian regime at the Sihetong Bridge in Beijing, has been missing since his arrest. Yesterday (8th), news emerged that after being secretly detained for over two years, he was sentenced to 9 years in prison on charges of “provoking trouble” and “arson”, and was sent to prison for serving his sentence two months ago.
Overseas netizens commented: “Arson? ‘Provoking trouble’ is already absurd, and now they add ‘arson’ on top of that. He ignited some flammable materials to attract attention, create visual effects (such as thick smoke), without causing fire spread or actual property damage, let alone endangering anyone’s life. By that logic, anyone smoking could be charged with arson. The verdict does not dare to mention the content of the two banners he hung, what are they afraid of?”
“Warriors never fall! We will meet again!”
“Immediately release the warrior of Sihetong Bridge, Peng Lifa is innocent.”
Peng Lifa, also known as “Peng Zaizhou,” was born in Tailai, Heilongjiang in 1974. On October 13, 2022, just before the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Peng Lifa hung multiple protest banners on Sihetong Bridge in Beijing, including messages like “We want food, not nucleic acid tests; we want freedom, not lockdowns; we want dignity, not lies; we want reform, not the Cultural Revolution; we want votes, not leaders; be citizens, not slaves,” and “Boycott classes and work, impeach the dictatorship, national traitor Xi Jinping.”
At that time, he disguised himself as a construction worker to hang the banners on the bridge, lighting objects to produce smoke to attract the attention of pedestrians and passing vehicles, and used a loudspeaker to broadcast the content of the banners. Peng Lifa was then taken away by the police.
Despite the urgent efforts of the Chinese authorities to erase traces of the Sihetong Bridge incident, related photos and texts spread rapidly on social media platforms domestically and internationally, sparking widespread resonance.
The Sihetong Bridge incident in Beijing subsequently became a global symbol of dissent. The incident was also seen as the catalyst for the “Blank Paper Revolution.” Starting from November 2022, protests against the zero-COVID policy erupted in many parts of the country, eventually forcing the authorities to end the highly criticized containment measures.
Since his arrest on the day of the incident, Peng Lifa’s whereabouts have been unknown. Human rights organizations have repeatedly called for the Chinese Communist government to disclose his whereabouts and provide a fair trial, but the Chinese government has not responded.
In October 2023, Radio Free Asia learned through various reliable channels inside China that Peng Lifa was still alive, but his family had not received any legal documents and could not afford to hire a lawyer for him. Furthermore, his wife and two daughters, as well as relatives on both sides of the marriage, were all closely monitored under the pretext of “protection.”
On November 9, 2023, an informant revealed to Epoch Times that Peng Lifa was still being held at the Haidian Branch of the Beijing Public Security Bureau at that time. When Epoch Times reporters inquired with the police, they neither denied nor provided a substantive response.
Despite the ongoing crackdown on dissidents like Peng Lifa who protest against the Chinese Communist Party and Xi Jinping, there have been individuals following in his footsteps.
On July 30, 2024, in Xinhua County, Loudi, Hunan, 22-year-old university student Fang Yirong hung banners mimicking the protest at Sihetong Bridge in Beijing on a local overpass, using a loudspeaker to express dissatisfaction with the CCP’s authoritarian rule. Fang Yirong was later arrested by the police.
On April 15 this year, anti-CCP banners were hung on an elevated bridge in Chengdu, Sichuan, directly stating that “the people do not need a party with unconstrained power.” An informant revealed that the warrior who hung the banners, 27-year-old Mei Shilin, has been detained by the Chinese Communist Party.