SAN FRANCISCO—Dozens of pro-democracy activists gathered in San Francisco on March 9 to protest the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) authoritarian rule and call for human rights in China.
Protesting CCP Rule
The rally took place outside the Chinese consulate, where demonstrators condemned CCP leader Xi Jinping’s 2018 constitutional amendment that abolished term limits for China’s head of state—paving the way for his potential lifelong rule.Protesters held banners reading: “End CCP,” “Xi Jinping, step down,” “Fake democracy in the Two Sessions! Xi Jinping was not elected by the people,” “Overthrow the CCP, put Xi Jinping on trial,” and “The Republic of China is the real China!”
The term “Two Sessions” refers to the annual meetings of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, which took place this year from March 4 to 11.
Zhang Junjie, one of the protest organizers, read aloud Sun Yat-sen’s political testament, which called for awakening the people and uniting with democratic nations.
“Our fight today is not just for the rights of present-day Chinese citizens,” Zhang said, “but also a continuation of the spirit of the 1911 Xinhai Revolution.”
Sun led the Xinhai Revolution in 1911, which ended China’s last dynasty, the Qing Dynasty.
Fang Zheng, former president of the Chinese Democratic Education Foundation (CDEF), called for Xi Jinping to step down.
“In 2018, Xi manipulated China’s legislature to shamefully amend the constitution,” he said. “Our goal is clear: Xi must step down, the CCP must fall, and the Chinese people must achieve true freedom.”
The CDEF is a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization dedicated to China’s democracy.
Huang Xiaomin, vice chairman of the San Francisco branch of the China Democracy Party, stated in her speech: “We must confront the most evil, corrupt, and brutal regime in human history—the Chinese Communist Party. One hundred years ago, Dr. Sun Yat-sen fought for a democratic China, but the CCP hijacked the fruits of the revolution and turned China into the world’s largest concentration camp.”
Commemorating Sun Yat-sen
Later in the day, activists gathered at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in San Francisco’s Chinatown for a centennial commemoration of Sun’s passing. Hosted by the CDEF and the Five Continents Chee Kung Tong, the event paid tribute to Sun’s role in establishing the Republic of China.The Five Continents Chee Kung Tong is a Chinese cultural organization that supported Sun’s revolution in the early 1900s.
Participants sang the national anthems of both the United States and Taiwan before presenting floral tributes to Sun’s portrait. Zhao Bingxian, leader of the Five Continents Chee Kung Tong, criticized the CCP’s portrayal of Sun, stating that Beijing’s leaders have been twisting history to claim Sun’s legacy while actively suppressing democracy.
“Sun Yat-sen’s revolution ended thousands of years of monarchy and established Asia’s first republic,” Zhao said. “But today, 100 years after his passing, China under the CCP has even less freedom than in the late Qing Dynasty.”
Feng Congde, who was a Tiananmen Square protest leader in 1989 before the Tiananmen Square Massacre, said that Sun’s vision remains relevant.
“The 1911 Revolution was the beginning of China’s democratic movement,” he said. “Today, the contrast between democratic Taiwan and authoritarian China makes it clear—Sun Yat-sen’s dream of a free and democratic China lives on, despite the CCP’s efforts to erase it.”
The event featured speeches from historians, legal scholars, and pro-democracy activists, all of whom denounced the CCP’s autocratic rule and reaffirmed their commitment to the ideals of freedom and democracy that Sun championed.
