Shockwaves in Zhongnanhai – Anti-CCP Banners Appear in Chengdu, Police Take No Action

On April 15, 2025, a startling photo began circulating online showing giant anti-Communist Party banners hanging from an overpass in downtown Chengdu, Sichuan Province. One of the banners declared: “The people do not need a party with unchecked power.” (Internet photo)

[People News] Despite the Chinese Communist Party's increasingly tight control and omnipresent street surveillance, three enormous anti-CCP banners appeared last week on a busy overpass in Chengdu. According to sources, the police responded with unusual sluggishness, and the incident has reportedly shocked the top leadership in Beijing, with speculation that a large number of “two-faced people” (officials who feign loyalty while harbouring dissent) may exist within the system. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the Ministry of State Security (MSS) have now taken over the case, sidelining the local Public Security Bureau entirely.

Chinese-Australian legal scholar Yuan Hongbing, citing sources within the system, pointed out that the banners remained hanging for nearly three hours before being removed. What truly shocked the Chinese Communist Party was not the content of the banners themselves, but the sluggish response of the entire stability maintenance apparatus.

Banners Left Hanging for Nearly Three Hours; Police Respond Slowly

A photo shared online on April 15 shows three large white banners with red lettering hanging from an overpass near the Chadianzi Bus Station in Chengdu. The slogans read: “Without political reform, there will be no national rejuvenation.” “The people do not need a party with unchecked power.” “China does not need someone to point the way—democracy is the way.” The banners were clearly visible under streetlights in the busy nighttime traffic.

According to Chinese-Australian legal scholar Yuan Hongbing, citing sources within the system, the banners were displayed in a very busy area with heavy traffic, yet remained up for over two hours without anyone reporting them.

He stated that a patrolling officer eventually discovered the banners during a routine patrol and reported the incident. Shockingly, his superiors did not order immediate removal. Instead, they instructed him to “preserve the evidence” and protect the scene. “As a result, the banners remained hanging for another 30 to 40 minutes, totalling nearly three hours before being taken down,” Yuan revealed.

Stability Maintenance System in Paralysis? Infiltration by ‘Two-Faced People’?

Despite the regime’s massive investments in a comprehensive system of “stability maintenance” — including street surveillance, internet censorship, and omnipresent police deployment — this incident exposed glaring flaws. China's vast surveillance network, with hundreds of millions of cameras nationwide, failed to catch the act in real-time, and the police reacted sluggishly.

“This indicates that the CCP’s entire stability maintenance system is failing, and even the police response was bizarre,” Yuan emphasised. He said the CCP leadership now suspects that a large number of “two-faced people” and even instances of passive resistance (“lying flat” and doing the bare minimum) exist within the system — a situation deemed extremely serious.

Reportedly, the incident has drawn direct attention from Xi Jinping himself. The investigation has been taken over by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and secret police from the Ministry of State Security. The Ministry of Public Security has been completely excluded from the process, signalling a loss of confidence from the top leadership in the national police apparatus.

Incident Reflects Systemic Crisis; Discontent and Inaction Within the Regime

This incident recalls the powerful 2022 Sitong Bridge protest by Peng Zaizhou (real name Peng Lifa), who unfurled anti-CCP and anti-Xi banners in Beijing. He was quickly arrested, and his fate remains unknown. However, his act sparked a wave of consciousness across China, inspiring similar acts of protest.

The fact that the recent Chengdu protest banners have prompted intervention from both the anti-corruption agency and the national security apparatus shows the depth of political anxiety within Xi Jinping’s leadership, according to Yuan Hongbing.

“Three protest banners hanging in a bustling city centre for three hours with no police response clearly signals rising dissatisfaction and anger within the regime’s own ranks,” Yuan added.

He concluded that the entire event reveals the collapse of the CCP’s stability maintenance system and exposes growing discontent and passive resistance within the Party structure. These developments serve as critical warning signs for the CCP’s political stability. 

(Reported by Dajiyuan journalists Cheng Mulan and Luo Ya)