Hundreds of protesters gathered in Grange Park in downtown Toronto on the evening of Dec. 3, to support the “White Paper Revolution” in China that calls for an end to Beijing’s draconian “zero-COVID policy.”
Multiple civil rights associations attended the gathering, including the Toronto Association for Democracy in China (TADC), the Federation for a Democratic China (FDC), and the Democratic Party of China Canada Committee (CDP-Canada). The protesters, many from the Hong Kong, Tibetan, and Uyghur communities, were heard chanting slogans such as “Down with the Communist Party” and calling for Chinese leader Xi Jinping to “step down.”
Yu Houqiang, chairman of CDP-Canada, urged the Chinese protestors to stand their ground, despite reports that the Chinese authorities have arrested protesters in the White Paper Revolution and are tracking down more via phone data.
“Keep up the fight, have all Chinese people come out, hold up a blank sheet of paper, make the CCP fearful, make Xi Jinping fearful,” Yu said.
TADC President Wu Wenwen, told The Epoch Times on Dec. 3 that the repression launched by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) against its people—regardless of where it takes place—is an unjust act that threatens universal values of justice, freedom, and respect for human dignity.
Joy Luk, a Hong Kong lawyer in exile, praised the young people in attendance for their courage in joining the Toronto rally, saying “Whether we Hong Kong people have a sense of belonging to mainlanders or not, we will always be Chinese. This cannot be changed.”
“Three years ago, there was a revolution in Hong Kong; now, it is a good time for us to oppose the CCP’s inhuman zero-COVID policy and stand in solidarity with all protesters,” Luk said.
A Chinese student, Paul, who spoke to The Epoch Times on the condition that his last name was omitted due to concerns for personal safety, said that he joined the protest “to oppose the CCP,” because the regime has “not only opposed God, but also committed crimes of killing tens of millions of people.”
“This is a very evil act, and we must condemn and stop this atrocity,” he said.
Paul called on all Chinese people to stand up and end the regime’s oppression, adding that “as the Communist Party has persecuted your neighbour today, it can persecute you tomorrow.”
