Chinese in New Zealand held an event to support the “Sitong Bridge” warriors

Previously, the Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of the China Democracy Party, Jie Lijian（界立建）, organized global support for the “Warriors of Sitong Bridge.” Recently, this initiative received active responses from local students and democratic activists from countries such as the United States, Canada, Japan, UK, the Netherlands, and even as far as Iceland. NZ was no exception; On 13th， organizations and individuals such as the NZ Democracy Platform and the Manchurian Restoration Movement, along with nearly twenty others, gathered in front of the Chinese consulate in Auckland to protest the Chinese Communist Party’s human rights violations and urge the release of the detained Peng Lifa（彭立发）.

The NZ organizer, Jian Xing（邢鉴）, stated: “The Sitong Bridge incident is a rare public protest in Beijing since the ‘June Fourth Incident.’ Peng Lifa’s protest slogan was subsequently widely quoted during the ‘White Paper Movement,’ pushing the Chinese Communist government to ultimately abandon its ‘zero COVID’ policy, thereby avoiding a large-scale humanitarian disaster and saving countless families and lives.”

Leo Chen, a student from PRC in NZ, gave a speech stating: “Freedom of speech is a basic right for everyone. Peng Zaizhou was merely exercising his right to express dissatisfaction with the government, and the Chinese government’s arrest and ‘disappearance’ of him seriously violated this right. This is not only an injustice to Peng Zaizhou（彭载舟） but also a blatant trampling of human rights. We must speak out for Peng Zaizhou and all those who have faced repercussions for expressing their opinions and suggestions to defend our dignity as human beings.”

Jordan Lee, a member of the New Zealand Democracy Platform, said: “The Chinese Communist Party has always prided itself on being a society governed by the rule of law where citizens enjoy freedom of speech. However, just because Mr. Peng Lifa demanded an end to the CCP’s perverse ‘zero COVID’ policy and called for an end to the CCP’s tyranny, the authorities ruthlessly suppressed him. We call on the CCP to immediately release Mr. Peng and end the persecution and imprisonment against him.”

Former official of the Shenyang Municipal Petition Bureau, Guo Hong（郭泓）, was detained by local prosecutors on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” for reporting the bureau chief, Chen Guoqiang（陈国强）, for embezzling over 100 million in petition maintenance funds. Recently, he was prosecuted, and the prosecution recommended a sentence of less than five years. His older sister, Guo Song（郭松）, fled to NZ last year after suffering relentless suppression from local police due to her brother’s plea for justice. Guo Song told the author: “I feel deeply empathetic. This lawless detention and imprisonment is a strong manifestation of rule by man over the rule of law, and it is a wanton trampling of human rights. I must stand up to support the warrior Peng Lifa and my brother Guo Hong! This is also a support for all victims of human rights abuses.”

On 13th of October, 2022, while China’s “dynamic zero COVID” policy had still not been lifted, a man using the alias Peng Zaizhou（彭载舟） hung two banners on Sitong Bridge in Beijing. One banner read: “No nucleic acid tests, we want to eat! No lockdowns, we want freedom! No lies, we want dignity! No Cultural Revolution, we want reform! No leaders, we want votes! We are citizens, not slaves!” The other banner stated: “Strike classes, strike work, dismiss the dictatorial national traitor Xi Jinping.” The man was quickly arrested by the CCP police and has been missing ever since, with his fate unknown. Later, it was confirmed through his Twitter account that his real name is Peng Lifa（彭立发）.

Ding Qiang（丁强）, head of the Manchurian Restoration Movement in New Zealand, attended the event and expressed support for the warrior Peng Lifa.