Recording the "White Paper Movement": Trial Set for The Road to Urumqi Producer Chen Pinlin

Background: On April 10, 2024, the Hong Kong Affairs Organization at the University of California, Berkeley, and the San Francisco-based Mandarin-speaking diaspora group, Star Collecting Office, co-hosted a screening of The Road to Urumqi. (Photo: Commemorative wall at the screening venue/VOA)

[People News] The documentary The Road to Urumqi, which records China’s “White Paper Movement” and the widespread protests against strict pandemic lockdown policies, sparked extensive discussions both domestically and internationally. However, the film’s producer, Chen Pinlin (online alias: Plato), was formally arrested by Shanghai police on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” After one year in detention, his trial is about to begin.

According to Radio Free Asia (RFA), the human rights monitoring network reported on Sunday that Chen Pinlin’s case will be heard on January 6 at 1:45 PM in the third courtroom of the criminal division of Baoshan District Court.

The indictment states that on the evening of November 26, 2022, Chen used his phone to record and preserve video footage at Urumqi Middle Road in Shanghai. Starting in September 2023, he produced a full-length retrospective documentary marking the first anniversary of the “White Paper Movement.” The film, The Road to Urumqi, was completed on November 27 and promoted through various international platforms, garnering over 210,000 views on Twitter alone.

RFA previously reported that during the “White Paper Movement,” Chen and his friends filmed extensive video footage at large-scale protests in Shanghai. This material was later compiled into the 1-hour-17-minute documentary The Road to Urumqi, which was uploaded online. Despite its Chinese title, the English name of the documentary is NOT THE FOREIGN FORCE. The film captures a wealth of authentic footage taken by Chinese citizens during the strict pandemic lockdowns, portraying experiences ranging from overpriced groceries during home confinement and mandatory isolation of COVID-positive individuals to the Foxconn workers’ protests in Henan and the domestic and overseas youth demonstrations against lockdowns. It serves as a vivid and painful record of Chinese citizens' suffering during that period.

The human rights monitoring network highlighted that during the three years of Xi Jinping’s strict “zero-COVID” policy, the daily lives and freedoms of Chinese citizens were severely infringed upon. A deadly fire in Urumqi, Xinjiang, became a flashpoint for public outrage against the pandemic measures. Additionally, the report noted that Chen Pinlin was subjected to inhumane treatment while in detention. His case urgently requires attention from all sectors of society.