On October 13th, it marked the two-year anniversary of Peng Lifa hanging banners denouncing the Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping on the Sìtōng Bridge in Beijing. Overseas Chinese initiated protests under the slogan “Global Support – Find Peng Zaizhou, Release him from the CCP’s imprisonment!” Analysts believe that Peng Lifa’s influence transcends generations, breaking through the CCP’s violent terror, leading to awakening and resistance among the people.
On Saturday, October 12th, Chinese communities in Los Angeles held flash mob events at three locations, with members of the Chinese Democratic Party voicing support for Peng Lifa, condemning the CCP’s atrocities, and calling for his release and an end to persecution.
The organizer of the event, Vice Chairman and Executive Director of the Chinese Democratic Party, Jiè Lìjian, stated to Dajiyuan, “This event on Saturday was a flash mob held in Chinese communities and at the City Hall in Los Angeles.”
Jiè Lìjian mentioned that not only in the U.S. and New Zealand but also in Canada, Japan, the UK, the Netherlands, and even as far as Iceland, local student groups have organized related activities, indicating that Peng Lifa’s actions have awoken many youths.
Participating in the event in Iceland, Zhōu Fēng said, “Today, we call for global solidarity, raising a strong voice: Release Peng Lifa! Release the warriors of Sìtōng Bridge! Stop persecution and safeguard human rights!”
“We firmly believe that although justice may be delayed, it will never be absent! We will stand here until Peng Lifa gains freedom, until all conscientious individuals in China are freed!”
Jiè Lìjian revealed that the event on the 13th would feature guest speakers from various organizations and speeches from international human rights groups.
Protesters will reenact Peng Lifa hanging banners, releasing smoke, and stage a scene of his arrest by the police. They will also submit a protest letter to the Chinese consulate, demanding Peng Lifa’s rescue, hoping the CCP will provide answers to his current situation.
“We will display a cage, where Mr. Peng Lifa will be bound with handcuffs and leg irons, enduring torture; because what he has likely experienced personally is ten or a hundred times more brutal than this, unable to be expressed through mere actions.”
Furthermore, protesters will launch a postcard campaign, writing to Peng Lifa, with the recipient address being a detention center in Beijing, although his current whereabouts are unknown, hoping to protect his safety through international attention.
Jiè Lìjian said, “Two years have passed, and we have repeatedly urged the CCP to release him, constantly demanding answers about where Peng Lifa is, where his family is, giving the world an answer.”
Human Rights Watch based in New York issued a statement on Friday, urging the Chinese authorities to immediately release Peng Lifa.
In the statement, Deputy Director of the China Program at Human Rights Watch, Wáng Sōnglián, stated, “The arrest of Peng Lifa by the CCP has sparked widespread support for freedom and democracy in China. Even after his enforced disappearance for two years, Peng Lifa’s message still resonates. The international community and governments around the world should focus on this case on the second anniversary of his disappearance and urge the CCP to immediately and unconditionally release him.”
Two years ago on October 13th, Peng Lifa hung banners on the Sìtōng Bridge in Beijing with slogans like “We want to eat, not nucleic acid; we want freedom, not lockdowns; no lies, just dignity; no Cultural Revolution, only reform; no leader, just votes; be a citizen, not a slave,” and “Strike, assembly, remove the dictatorial national traitor Xi Jinping” and several other protest banners.
He disguised himself as a construction worker, hung the banners on the bridge, lit items to create smoke to attract pedestrians and passing vehicles’ attention, and played the contents of the two banners over a loudspeaker. He was taken away by the police afterward and has had no contact since.
It is reported that Peng Lifa (online nickname Peng Zaizhou), aged 50, is from Tailai County, Heilongjiang Province.
Peng Lifa remains completely silent to this day. In October 2023, Radio Free Asia learned through various reliable sources within China that Peng Lifa was still alive, but his family had not received any legal documents and could not hire a lawyer for him. Furthermore, his wife, two daughters, and even relatives of both sides were closely monitored under the guise of “protection.”
Various overseas democracy and human rights activists told Radio Free Asia that no reliable information has been available since then.
Jiè Lìjian said that earlier this year, five or six volunteers attempted to inquire about Peng Lifa’s whereabouts at his hometown in Northeast China, but they were stopped by the police and militia at the village entrance, losing contact later, with no response on WeChat.
Shāng Xuě, editor-in-chief of China Spring in Toronto, Canada, said in a video that two years ago, Peng Lifa, with his extraordinary wisdom, firm beliefs, and courage, opened the banners on the Bridge, especially calling for Xi Jinping to step down, leading to his disappearance thereafter.
“To our knowledge, his family and relatives are now under the control of the CCP, losing their freedom, so it’s challenging for us to obtain specific information about him.”
Despite two years having passed, the Sìtōng Bridge is still under strict surveillance. On Chinese search engines like Baidu and Gaode Maps, “Sìtōng Bridge” remains unsearchable, and Weibo posts related to “Sìtōng Bridge” only go back to 2020.
Jiè Lìjian said, “What the CCP fears most is more people inheriting Peng Lifa’s spirit, more people imitating, challenging, and spreading the resistance against the CCP’s tyranny with the Sìtōng Bridge hero, spreading worldwide. This is what the CCP fears the most.”
When the CCP secretly detained Peng Lifa years ago, blocking all relevant information, it could not prevent the profound impact he had on society.
Former Tiananmen Square Movement leader Zhou Fengsu revealed to Radio Free Asia that in July this year, a woman named Guo Yi, who had been arrested for posting posters and slogans in support of Peng Lifa in public toilets in October 2022, spoke out about what she witnessed when abroad.
“Until now, it’s known that just those who were arrested in a similar fashion to echo Peng Lifa’s actions may have numbered in the hundreds.”
At the time leading up to the 20th National Congress of the CCP, the Sìtōng Bridge incident had a massive impact, sparking the “Poster Movement” and “Toilet Revolution,” as well as giving rise to the “Blank Paper Movement” in multiple cities nationwide in November, where protesters publicly voiced Peng Lifa’s demands, chanting, “Xi Jinping step down, CCP step down!”
The “Blank Paper Movement” extended overseas, with people in major international cities like New York, Washington DC, Toronto echoing the calls, demanding “Xi Jinping step down, CCP step down,” ultimately forcing the CCP to abandon the harsh “dynamic zero-case” lockdown policy enforced during the epidemic for three years.
Zhou Fengsu said, “Peng Lifa’s appeal will transcend generations, inspiring people in the future. His image as the Sìtōng Bridge hero is like a timeless legend, much like the Tank Man of June 4.”
Last year, on the first anniversary of the Sìtōng Bridge event, ten protesters hung several banners on bridges in London, including a replica of the Sìtōng Bridge banner, with the slogan “CCP out, Xijinping out,” and asked, “Where is Peng Zaizhou?”
Simultaneously, commemorative events were held in cities such as Glasgow, Washington DC, New York, Boston, and Vancouver, bringing Peng Lifa’s banners at Sìtōng Bridge and his courage to the world.
On July 30th this year, a 22-year-old young man, Fang Yirong, in Xiānhuà County, Hunan Province, reprised the Sìtōng Bridge banner incident in Beijing, hanging banners on a pedestrian overpass with loudspeakers playing slogans. The related video went viral overseas, but there was no presence on Chinese social media.
Jiè Lìjian stated, “Seeing what Peng Lifa has done today, more and more people are resisting in various ways across the globe, breaking through the CCP’s violent terror and lockdowns. This awakening and resistance of the people, when reaching a critical mass, will inevitably be the moment when the CCP’s downfall occurs.”