When street protests meet feminist activism in the A4 Revolution

Bibliographic Data

ID3946262
AuthorsAltman Yuzhu Peng (0000-0002-3440-0761, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume137
Issue1
Pages87-94
Publication date2024-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFeminist Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0141-7789 • E-ISSN: 1466-4380
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/01417789241240457
OpenAlexW4401511481
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited17

In China, small-scale, single-issue protests are occasionally observed, but widespread acts of civil disobedience have not been documented for many years. This record was broken in late November 2022 due to a building fire in Urumqi, Xinjiang. Allegedly, ten victims lost their lives as a consequence of the authorities’ extreme ‘dynamic-zero’ (动态清零, dòngtài qīnglíng) COVID-19 control measures, which hindered rescue efforts (Ong, 2023). The first signs of resistance emerged at the Communication University of China, Nanjing, where students used sheets of A4-sized white paper as symbols to protest against the government’s excessive COVID-19 restrictions. Subsequently, these protests gained momentum. Students from across the nation and residents in major Chinese cities voluntarily joined the rallies from their local areas. The slogans being chanted no longer solely revolved around COVID-19 restrictions. Instead, courageous young individuals began raising their voices, calling for democratic reforms across the entire political system. This level of street activism has not been witnessed in China since 1989, the year when the Tiananmen Square protests erupted and the year when I was born. The surge in domestic civil disobedience has also inspired members of the Chinese overseas diaspora. As one from the community based in the UK, I too participated in a rally on the night of 27 November 2022, at the central hub of London, right in front of the Chinese Embassy. My intention was to display solidarity with the brave protesters back home. This experience not only allowed me to partake in street activism but also enabled me to provide a firsthand account of the A4 revolution

Feminism · Human sexuality · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Social activism · Sociology · Anthropology · Cultural Studies · Gender Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Law

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