On Pelosi’s Arrival Thousands Protest Chinese Regime

House Speaker Pelosi was greeted in Shanghai by over 2,000 Chinese protesting against the communist regime.
On Pelosi’s Arrival Thousands Protest Chinese Regime
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi meets with Chairman Liu Yungeng of the Shanghai City People's Congress. (Qilai Shen/Getty Images)
5/25/2009
Updated:
5/26/2009
<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/1pelolead_medium.jpg"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/1pelolead_medium.jpg" alt="Chinese protesters hold with a banner that reads: 'Welcome to China, Pelosi; SOS: Please Pay Attention to China's Human Rights.' (Photo provided by protesters)" title="Chinese protesters hold with a banner that reads: 'Welcome to China, Pelosi; SOS: Please Pay Attention to China's Human Rights.' (Photo provided by protesters)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-86492"/></a>
Chinese protesters hold with a banner that reads: 'Welcome to China, Pelosi; SOS: Please Pay Attention to China's Human Rights.' (Photo provided by protesters)
BEIJING—House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Shanghai on May 24. On the morning of May 25, 2,000 Chinese took to the streets of Beijing protesting against the communist regime and urging Pelosi to pay attention to human rights in China. About a dozen were arrested by Chinese police.

Protesters shouted slogans such as “Bring down corrupt officials,” “Restore human rights,” and “Long live democracy.” They distributed flyers or held their appeal letters in their hands. Some protesters shouted, “Work as one heart,” “Welcome Pelosi: SOS—please pay attention to China’s human rights.” Eye-catching giant banners stretched across the streets. The protest lasted for about two hours.

Ms. Li Li, a protester from Shanxi Province, says that she had planned to welcome Pelosi at the South Station (a train and bus depot) at around 9:30AM on May 25, but she had not expected the area to be filled with police, with over a dozen police cars there when she arrived.

<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/1pelovbus_medium.jpg"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/1pelovbus_medium.jpg" alt="Crowds anxiously await Pelosi's arrival. (Photo provided by protesters)" title="Crowds anxiously await Pelosi's arrival. (Photo provided by protesters)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-86493"/></a>
Crowds anxiously await Pelosi's arrival. (Photo provided by protesters)
Also joining in the protest was Ms. Zhao Chunhong, a long-term protester from Hebei Province, who says she has desperately appealed for her rights for over two-years. With the help of another protester, Ms. Li Suzhen, Zhao unfurled a banner that says: “Welcome Pelosi: SOS – please pay attention to China’s human rights” and shouted slogans.

The Chinese police tried to take the banner from Zhao. Zhao, who is eight months pregnant, was dragged to the ground, and her legs were injured and her arms twisted. Several elderly women were knocked to the ground also.

The Chinese police manhandled the protesters and injured many people. Elderly people in their 70’s were pushed to the ground by hired thugs.

According to Mr. Zhou Guangfu from Chongqing, there were more than 2,000 protesters.

“This is the capital city of China and we are welcoming foreign dignitaries. It is wrong for the police to treat protesters like this,” Zhou said.

Zhou saw the police arrest about a dozen people, including a foreign reporter. He says that the police allegedly released them because they received an order from the top that they must not arrest any more people.

<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/1pelosit87947795_medium.jpg"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/1pelosit87947795_medium.jpg" alt="House Speaker Nancy Pelosi meets with Chairman Liu Yungeng of the Shanghai City People's Congress. (Qilai Shen/Getty Images)" title="House Speaker Nancy Pelosi meets with Chairman Liu Yungeng of the Shanghai City People's Congress. (Qilai Shen/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-86494"/></a>
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi meets with Chairman Liu Yungeng of the Shanghai City People's Congress. (Qilai Shen/Getty Images)
Mr. Chen Fengqiang, a protester from Zhuhai, said that the protesters organized this welcoming activity spontaneously because Pelosi had repeatedly criticized China’s human rights violations in public. Chen added that this activity was successful despite the suppression and monitoring by police and the anger of the protestors.

Pelosi will visit Beijing and Shanghai during this visit, but has refused to reveal whether she would bring up human rights during the meetings. Before her visit, Pelosi revealed that she planned to discuss climate change, energy, and the economy.

Read this article in Chinese: http://epochtimes.com/b5/9/5/25/n2537583.htm