On Wednesday (November 15), hundreds of protestors gathered in San Francisco as Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in the American city for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. The protesting crowd comprised of activists representing Students for Free Tibet, Uyghurs and the Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC).
Downtown SF pic.twitter.com/GY9399G25B
— Students for a Free Tibet (@SFTHQ) November 15, 2023
The protestors raised banners reading “Free Tibet”, “Free Hong Kong”, and “Rise Against Xi”. Moreover, a “flying” banner seen over the Moscone Centre, the site of the APEC Summit, read: ‘End CCP, Free China, Free HK, Free Tibet, Free Uyghur’.
老天‼️习皇抬头看飞机会不会扭了脖子？🤭🤭
— 牛津工作室（英伦战队） (@oxfordstudio777) November 14, 2023
APEC 会场中心上空盘旋一架飞机 空中飘扬着“ End CCP Free China Free HK Free Tibet Free Uighur”#2023apec #freehongkong #freechina #endccp#SanFrancisco #Xijinping #Biden #CCP #习近平 #旧金山 #拜登 pic.twitter.com/xZ1S7ExgXr
As mentioned on the banner, the protestors demanded an end to the Chinese Communist Party’s rule in China, in addition to the independence of Hong Kong and Tibet, as well as freedom for Uyghur people living in China’s Xinjiang province.
#X BREAKING: MASSIVE ANTI CHINA PROTESTS ERUPTING ON MARKET STREET SAN FRANCISCO. THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE SCREAMING FREE TIBET AS MARKET STREET IS SHUT DOWN. EAST AND WEST TRAFFIC DEADLOCK. @elonmusk @stillgray pic.twitter.com/tdLoSCDihk
— World Peace Movement (@darren_stallcup) November 15, 2023
Meanwhile, Market Street in San Francisco witnessed a protest march with Asians Against China’s Occupation & Oppression denouncing President Xi Jinping and shouting “Free Tibet” slogans.
Thousands of protesters hit the streets of #SanFrancisco today over several economic, political and social issues. They’re happening amid the #APEC2023 summit. Here on Market Street, Asians Against China’s Occupation & Oppression” denounced President Xi and shouted “Free Tibet!” pic.twitter.com/Nw77hUrXcJ
— Brooks Jarosz (@BrooksKTVU) November 16, 2023
In a statement released on November 10, Students for a Free Tibet’s Executive Director Pema Doma said, ”Since 1949, the Chinese government has tried to exterminate the Tibetan people through invasion and torture camps. Over the last 10 years of Xi Jinping’s reign, he has made it his goal to use China’s economic and technological resources to destroy the fabric of our identity through his policy of Sinicization. It is clear that delinking human rights from economic engagement has only better equipped China with the tools to commit genocide. The Biden Administration must make human rights a non-negotiable centerpiece of any further economic engagement with China.”
Another protesting group Hong Kong Democracy Council’s Executive Director Anna Kwok said, “The last time Xi set foot in the United States, Hong Kong was devoid of the horrors of the National Security Law. In just six years, Hong Kong was turned upside down by excessive police violence, incessant political repression, and a weaponized judiciary system. Xi’s ambition for a globalized authoritarian regime does not stop at the 1,688 political prisoners in Hong Kong, he continues to wage transnational repression and foreign influence campaigns internationally, including in the United States. President Biden must not give in to short-term economic benefits and illusionary cooperation. Xi – an architect of genocide – is not to be trusted.”
Amidst the protests and sloganeering seeking freedom of Tibet and Hong Kong, US President Joe Biden raised concerns about China’s “human rights abuses” in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday.
“He raised concerns regarding PRC human rights abuses, including in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong. On Taiwan, President Biden emphasized that our one China policy has not changed and has been consistent across decades and administrations. He reiterated that the United States opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side, that we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, and that the world has an interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. He called for restraint in the PRC’s use of military activity in and around the Taiwan Strait,” a White House readout of President Biden’s meeting with his Chinese counterpart read.
Blinken looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole when Biden said Xi Jinping is a dictator. pic.twitter.com/jOPPAqxQQC
— RRN (@RRNmedia) November 16, 2023
Following the meeting, Biden called Xi Jinping a is “dictator”. Biden’s remark came after a media person asked him if still considers Jinping a “dictator” as he once called him so. “Well, look, he is. He is a dictator in the sense that he is a guy who runs a country that is communist,” Biden said, adding that the Chinese government “is totally different than ours.”
APEC Summit
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a regional economic forum founded in 1989 to capitalise on the Asia-Pacific region’s growing interconnectedness. APEC is the principal forum for the United States to advance economic policy in the Asia-Pacific region in order to promote free, fair, and open trade and investment, as well as to advance sustainable and inclusive economic growth. The APEC members include Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; People’s Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; the Philippines; the Russian Federation; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; the United States of America; Vietnam.
