Dissent simmers in China despite Xi flaunting military might

After China held a massive military parade in Beijing on Wednesday, with troops marching in tight formations and state-of-the-art missiles on display, a single act of defiance around 1,450 kilometers (900 miles) away began to capture global attention.

On August 29, just days before the big parade, a slideshow of giant anti-communist slogans lit up the night, projected on the exterior wall of a high-rise building in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing. 

"Down with the Red Fascists! Overthrow communist tyranny!" one slogan read, while another declared: "Arise, you who refuse to be slaves!"

By the time police broke into the room housing the projector, Qi Hong, the activist behind the carefully planned action, had long fled — leaving behind only a handwritten letter urging people "not to aid a tyrant."

"I've become especially repulsed by the government's use of state machinery to incite hatred," Qi told DW after arriving in London with his wife and daughters, citing the parade as the final straw that motivated him to stage the projection.

Such acts of dissent are rare in China, where public criticism of the Communist Party can lead to police harassment, persecution, or imprisonment.

On Weibo, one of the country's largest social media platforms, there is no information about Qi's protest. For days, posts praising the parade dominated top searches, followed by news of a man's arrest on September 4 for critical online comments on the event.

Public enthusiasm and silenced skepticism

Wednesday's parade, which marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, drew significant global attention with the historic meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

A flood of analyst and media assessments have focused on Beijing's display of modernized weaponry and technological progress.

China's state-run English-language newspaper China Daily reported that the parade "received high praise from world leaders," with its live broadcast keeping Chinese people "riveted to their mobile phones and television sets."

Wu Qiang, an independent academic and political commentator in China, described the overall atmosphere to DW as "a mix of attention, excitement, and frustration at voices that challenged [the parade]."

In other words, Wu added, public attitudes toward the military parade were "highly divided."

"While many were genuinely excited, some stayed silent, and others voiced skepticism," he said, adding that the phenomenon was evident on WeChat, China's dominant messaging app.

According to Chinese media reports, a man in his 40s was placed in police custody on Thursday after criticizing the live broadcast of China's military parade on WeChat and insulting users expressing patriotic views.

In the run-up to the parade in Beijing, Chinese authorities shut down parts of the capital with strict security measures. Local shops and subway stations near the parade route were not allowed to open, and residents needed to keep their windows closed.

Wu told DW that during the parade, the empty streets under tight control and "carefully choreographed cheering crowds" gathering in Tiananmen Square also spoke volumes about the contrast in public sentiment.

The rare, bold act of dissent amid the parade

Qi, the activist staging the projection protest, rejects what he called "hate propaganda."

In his view, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) constantly emphasizes atrocities committed during World War II by the Japanese empire's military regime — which killed millions of people across the Asia-Pacific — yet fails to reflect on the tragedies it caused at home, including the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

In July, weeks before the August 31 military parade, Qi started planning his protest. He surveyed locations and practiced laser projection with harmless phrases. He then left China and switched on the projector remotely.

Qi said he drew his inspiration from previous activism, including the 2022 Sitong Bridge incident in Beijing's Haidian district, during which a banner was unfurled brandishing the words "We need food, not COVID tests. We want freedom, not lockdowns," in reference to China's strict zero-COVID policy. 

"We want dignity, not lies. We need reform, no cultural revolution," the white banner continued in red letters. "We want to vote, not a leader. Don't be slaves, be citizens." Censors quickly removed references to the protest on social media. 

In 2023, before a series of political meetings began, a lone protester named Chai Song also projected defiant slogans on a building in Shandong province.

'I simply couldn't take it anymore': Chinese activist

Such planned actions have become more common in China, as dissidents are looking for ways to express their disapproval of the government while avoiding the country's sweeping surveillance system.

Leading up to the event, several photos circulated on X among Chinese dissident communities, showing anti-communist slogans such as "Step down, dictator" handwritten on the doors of public toilets in Beijing.

DW, however, was not able to independently verify the authenticity of these photos.

Following Qi's public protest, the police detained one of his brothers and a friend and interrogated his elderly mother outside her home in China. The Chongqing police had not answered DW's request for comment by the time of publication.

On social media, many have hailed Qi as a "warrior." But when speaking with DW in London, he simply shook his head: "I'm just an ordinary person. I simply couldn't take it anymore — someone had to do something."

As a practicing Buddhist, Qi told DW: "I often talk to my children about karma… Sow the seeds of hatred, and you will reap the fruits of hatred."

"I don't want them to keep living in this kind of society," he said, "It's like you're living in a cesspit, yet you are forced to say, 'It smells good.'"

DW correspondent Hao Yu contributed reporting

Edited by: Keith Walker