普通人的抗争Ordinary People's Resistance
他们没有武器，只有一支笔、一面墙、一条横幅，和不肯弯下去的腰。They had no weapons — only a pen, a wall, a banner, and a spine that would not bend.
April Fifth Movement
1976In the spring of 1976, Beijing residents filled Tiananmen Square with wreaths and poems mourning Zhou Enlai and protesting the Gang of Four; after the April 5 clashes the square was cleared and more than 200 people were arrested — the movement was rehabilitated in 1978.
Xidan Democracy Wall
1978–1979In late 1978 a wall at Xidan in Beijing filled with big-character posters and unofficial journals, including Wei Jingsheng's "The Fifth Modernization"; the wall was shut down in 1979 and Wei was sentenced to 15 years, serving 18 years in total across two terms.
June Fourth Workers & Citizens
1989In 1989 Beijing workers formed an autonomous federation and citizens blocked army convoys in support of the students; on the night of June 3–4 they paid the heaviest price along Chang'an Avenue, and federation members received long sentences, some death.
Tank Man
June 1989On June 5, 1989, the day after the crackdown, a lone man carrying shopping bags stood in the middle of Chang'an Avenue and blocked a column of tanks; the photograph circled the world — his name and fate remain unknown.
Tang Hui
2006–2014After her 11-year-old daughter was abducted, raped and forced into prostitution, Tang Hui petitioned for justice — and was herself sent to re-education through labor for 18 months; freed in eight days under public pressure, her case became a landmark in the 2013 abolition of the labor-camp system.
Xiamen PX Walk
2007In June 2007, Xiamen citizens mobilized by text message took to the streets in a 'walk' that halted the Haicang PX plant; six months later the project was moved to Zhangzhou — and 'going for a walk' entered China's vocabulary of protest.
Wukan Village Uprising
2011–2016In Wukan, Guangdong, villagers rose over land sold without their consent, expelled their officials, stood off the state, and won a one-person-one-vote election in 2012; five years later their elected chief Lin Zuluan was imprisoned and riot police returned.
New Citizens Movement
2012–2023From 2012, Xu Zhiyong, Ding Jiaxi and others campaigned for officials' asset disclosure and equal education rights for migrant children; a systematic crackdown followed from 2013, and in 2023 Xu was sentenced to 14 years and Ding to 12.
709 Crackdown
2015Beginning July 9, 2015, 319 lawyers, law-firm staff and family members across China were arrested, summoned or disappeared, several sentenced for "subversion"; a decade on, not one has resumed practicing law.
Sitong Bridge Protest
Oct 2022On October 13, 2022, Peng Lifa hung two banners on Beijing's Sitong Bridge protesting zero-COVID and one-man rule; he was taken away on the spot and has been forcibly disappeared ever since.
White Paper Movement
Nov 2022In November 2022 a deadly fire in Urumqi ignited nationwide protests, as young people in dozens of cities and universities raised blank sheets of paper; within two weeks, three years of zero-COVID came to an end.
White Hair Movement
Feb 2023In February 2023, Wuhan's medical-insurance reform slashed what retirees receive in their personal accounts; tens of thousands of white-haired pensioners gathered twice — at city hall and Zhongshan Park — singing The Internationale and demanding answers.
Jiangyou Protest
Aug 2025In August 2025, the lenient handling of a school bullying case in Jiangyou, Sichuan, ignited the city: thousands gathered outside city hall and confronted police into the early hours, while official bulletins, 'rumor refutations' and deletions raced to keep pace.