Ou Ronggui, one of the initiators and participants of the Guangzhou democratic movement—the Southern Street Movement (Movement), is living in exile in New Zealand after years of multiple imprisonments for his aspirations in democratic activities in China.
Ou recently gave his account of the Movement to the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times.
The Movement was centered on the streets of Guangzhou, a southern metropolis, where activists demanded democracy by holding banners and chanting slogans.
He explained why the series of movements in Guangzhou had imposed the greatest threat to the CCP.
Ou, 37, said most Chinese who attempt to defend their rights are not aware that they are falling into a trap set by the regime.
He referred to the massive number of Chinese seeking justice and filing complaints to the petition office, Letters and Visits Bureau, in Beijing. Rather than getting their problems resolved, petitioners are only met with ever-intensifying oppression.
Ou reminded people they are fighting against “an evil regime, not a government.”
Early Enlightenment
Ou was born in the countryside of Guilin, Guangxi, bordering Vietnam in south China. He seemed to have an innate immunity to the CCP. As a child, when his playmates worshiped Mao Zedong, he had doubts in his heart.He learned about the authoritarian nature of the CCP when he filed for his first resident ID at a police station at the age of 16.
He recalled that the experience taught him the CCP is not serving the people.
Ou and several enthusiastic young Chinese took their democratic ideas from the internet to the streets. The Movement in 2011 and 2012 resulted in multiple arrests for Ou and the participants.
He also experienced harassment from state security on the eve of June 4—the annual 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre memorial.
In 2016, Ou was sentenced to a year of imprisonment for a protest against a forced demolition in Guangxi Province.
Meeting obstacles when trying to get himself an apartment in Guangzhou were routine for Ou. His electronic key card was constantly deactivated and access to his apartment was often denied.
Chinese Jasmine Movement
Following the 2011 Jasmine Movement in the Middle East, the Chinese Jasmine Movement also emerged in China.The fall of Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi in August 2011 excited Chinese democracy activists.
Protests took place in Guangzhou on Aug. 28, 2011, when Hu Jintao was the chairman of CCP.
They held a banner stating, “Celebrating the downfall of dictator Gaddafi,” projecting their demand to bring down the CCP.
Liu Yuandong, a democracy activist, spoke up, saying “step down Hu Jintao” and “why do we have a one-child policy?”
The police interrupted their gathering, and more than a dozen young activists were arrested. The whole protest only lasted for around 10 minutes. Later that evening they were released.
‘Free Chen Guancheng’
In September 2011, they formed another protest to support the human rights lawyer Chen Quangcheng.When Chen was finally released in 2010, the CCP kept him under house arrest.
China’s Dream of Constitutionalism
In 2013, Southern Weekly issued a New Year’s Greeting editorial entitled, “China’s Dream, the Dream of Constitutionalism,” signaling an open confrontation between Chinese journalists and state propaganda.The editorial was soon censored and the publisher was suppressed.
Two days later, many people expressed their support for the Southern Weekly journalists. The members of the Southern Street Movement also held their slogan of “Strive for Press freedom, Build a Democratic China.”
Members of the Movement again faced the regime’s retaliation in March 2013, Ou said.
Liu Yuandong, for instance, was arrested in 2013. He was sentenced to three years in prison for the crime of “gathering crowds to disturb social order.” Liu, a biologist, quietly ran his company after he was released from prison.
Wang Aizhong, as another example, was also arrested in 2013. He was detained again in 2021 on the charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” due to his online remarks.
Civil Movements Hit CCP Hard
Ou believes that a true movement is unstoppable; especially if it is initiated by an organization. Strictly speaking, a movement has a defined goal.“Like the White Paper Movement, it aimed to lift the lockdowns; however, if it were led by a democracy activist, the movement would become an issue of freedom and democracy, not just to ease the city lockdown,” he said.
He explained that movement is a form of people’s power. The CCP is good at manipulating movements by initiating, controlling, and guiding the direction of the people’s power, such as during the Cultural Revolution.
But the CCP won’t allow movements from the grassroots or from the society at any level.
Any external movement hits the CCP’s nerve system, “It becomes extremely worrisome to the regime,” he said.
Ou said the pandemic controls were the CCP’s most blatant and coercive control of society, as billions of people were locked up in their homes.
However, the White Paper Movement challenged the regime and forced the CCP to end the lockdown quickly.
“That’s why we must initiate the movement from outside, preventing its manipulation and control. It will hit the CCP to some extent,” he explained.
The majority of Chinese are tied up by self-interest, he said, “But, the civil movements in early years have led the way,” and that’s how the White Paper Movement took place, and that’s what frightens the CCP.
