The White Paper Movement Marks Its Third Anniversary, and a Bizarre Flag-snatching Incident Occurred at the Bund in Shanghai

On November 26, several plainclothes police officers at the Bund in Shanghai forcibly took a flag from a male tourist. Even after realising that the flag bore no sensitive content, they insisted that the tourist cooperate with their investigation before allowing him to leave. (Video screenshot)

[People News] The Chinese white paper movement reached its third anniversary on the 26th. On November 24, in Shanghai, one of the movement's key cities, a male tourist was taking photos outside the Peace Hotel at the Bund. Just as he pulled out a flag from his bag for a picture, plainclothes police rushed in, seized the flag, and conducted an extensive interrogation. Ultimately, they discovered that the flag contained no sensitive content, leading to a humorous misunderstanding. The tourist shared the video of the incident on social media, igniting a lively debate among netizens who criticised the CCP for its excessive sensitivity.

In the footage, two plainclothes police officers from the CCP are seen snatching the ordinary cloth flag from the male tourist at the Bund. Initially, they believed it was a white cloth protest, but later realised it featured poetry instead of a protest message. The officers recognised their mistake, leaving the man looking confused. This incident coincided with the third anniversary of China's 'white paper movement,' amid escalating tensions from the CCP.

The video shows an incident at the Bund in Shanghai where an individual took out a mobile phone and aimed it at the front entrance of the Peace Hotel before pulling out a flag. Almost immediately, two plainclothes police officers from the Chinese Communist Party rushed over, appearing tense and aggressively attempting to seize the flag. However, upon realising that the flag contained no sensitive content, they displayed surprised expressions and remarked, 'This can't be taken,' 'You should put it away,' and 'You startled me.' Despite this, the man who filmed the incident was still required to cooperate with the police for an investigation before he was allowed to leave.

After the event, the tourist uploaded the selfie video to social media, where he explained that the plainclothes police in Shanghai mistook him for a petitioner, only to discover that he was not; the flag bore a poem.

Netizens openly commented, 'Every blade of grass and tree is a soldier, reflecting how fearful the people are,' while others sarcastically critiqued the CCP, saying, 'White toilet paper is as powerful as a bomb.' Additionally, some netizens noted, 'As long as the CCP remains in power, the area of the 64 massacre will not improve,' 'The pressure cooker continues to build pressure,' 'He should be grateful that his paper has words on it,' 'So it turns out that those with orange crossbody bags are plainclothes officers,' 'The wind is howling,' 'The white paper movement has lasted three years, and it is evident that it is not the masses who are truly frightened,' 'The true face of the running dog has been revealed; the people of Shanghai should take note,' 'The wind is howling, every blade of grass and tree is a soldier, reminiscent of the end of a dynasty,' and 'This only indicates that the ones most fearful of the future are not the common people.'

The White Paper Movement refers to the gathering of students from Nanjing Media College on November 26, 2022, to commemorate the victims of the Urumqi fire. They held up white papers and chanted slogans such as 'Long live the people, may the deceased rest in peace' and 'Xi Jinping must step down! The Communist Party must step down!' News of the protests quickly spread throughout China, with at least 21 provinces and over 200 universities joining in. People protested against the Communist Party's stringent zero-COVID policy, and calls of 'Down with the Communist Party,' 'The Communist Party must step down,' and 'Xi Jinping must step down' could be heard everywhere. 

Shanghai emerged as one of the central locations for the White Paper Movement, where protesters also united in chanting 'Down with the Communist Party, down with Xi Jinping.' Faced with overwhelming public sentiment, the Communist Party was ultimately compelled to abandon its zero-COVID policy. However, the Party then launched a crackdown, resulting in the arrest of many participants and the silencing and blocking of their accounts; for three years, the memory of the White Paper Revolution has remained alive in Chinese society. 

While the flag-snatching incident that took place in Shanghai may seem absurd, it underscores the Communist Party's fear of the general populace. △