Hundreds of Chinese international students from several Southern California universities have joined the wave of anti-lockdown protests that started in late November in mainland China calling for an end to COVID-19 lockdowns and for the ruling Chinese Community Party (CCP) to step down.
Students across the region were seen holding blank sheets of paper—called the “White Paper Revolution”—during demonstrations symbolizing Chinese residents’ inability to speak freely in the authoritarian state.
Protesters chanted “Take down the Chinese Communist Party” and “No more lockdown. We want freedom”—echoing mass protests that have erupted in China’s major cities after an apartment fire killed at least 10 people on Nov. 24 in the city of Urumqi, China.
According to reports, many residents have been locked in their homes for nearly four months under strict quarantine policies and couldn’t escape when the fire began.
At the University of Southern California
Nearly 500 students from mainland China gathered for a memorial on Nov. 29 at the University of Southern California (USC) in support of the white paper movement. Some said it’s important to speak up and that they aren’t afraid of the CCP.“People [have been] worried about them or their family becoming the next victim,” Han Wang, one of the event organizers and a student at USC, told The Epoch Times. “They can no longer stay silent.”
Some students who said they had witnessed COVID-19 lockdowns in China said they’ve decided to take a stand.
One such student, Tracy, who didn’t give her last name, said she experienced a five-month-long lockdown in Shanghai.
“I should have spoken up back then, but I was too cowardly to do so,” she said, wearing a face mask to conceal her identity.
Others criticized the Chinese government’s attempt to cover up what’s happening in China.
“These people failed us with their policies, but they never admit it. Instead, they keep covering up their mistakes. They need to acknowledge their mistakes and pay the price,” said Isaac, another Chinese student at the gathering, who declined to provide his last name.
One passerby, a student by the name of Kerk, expressed his support for the protesters.
At the University of California–Los Angeles
University of California–Los Angeles and University of California–Irvine students also protested on Nov. 29.One such student at UCLA who said he was from Hong Kong expressed grief for the lives lost and others injured in the Urumqi fire.
He also said he feels encouraged by the protests calling for an end to the Chinese Communist regime.
He said democracy movements that have taken place in Hong Kong in the past few years have shed light on the regime’s tyranny.
More mainland students have started to stand up, he said.
At the University of California–San Diego
At the University of California–San Diego (UCSD) on Dec. 1, similar student protesters held blank sheets of paper and shouted “Take down the Chinese Community Party,” “Step down, Xi Jinping,” and “We want freedom.”Ashley, who didn’t give her last name and is a Chinese student at the university, told The Epoch Times, “I am very touched that many people in mainland China have stood up this time. The threats they are facing over there are much bigger than what we are facing here, and there is no excuse for us—who live in the U.S.—to hold back.”
She said the wave of recent protests demonstrates that many Chinese residents are now saying they’ve had enough.
“Many of us are awake, and ... willing to step up and willing to fight back as a citizen. This is truly commendable,” she said.
Among the nearly 100 attendees of the protest—mostly Chinese students—many said they wore a face mask to protect their identity.
Lawrence, who didn’t give his full name but said he was from China, said during the protest that the CCP is to blame for everything happening in China today.
“Many of us are here today to protest the ‘Zero COVID’ policy and to mourn the victims of the fire. But I believe that the CCP is the problem—not just Xi Jinping, but the whole CCP regime,” he said.
Other recent protests in the United States have been staged at Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania, as well as at the University of Cambridge in England.
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