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.
四五运动April Fifth Movement
1976年19761976年清明前后，北京市民自发涌到天安门广场献花圈、贴诗抄，悼念周恩来、抗议"四人帮"；4月4日夜花圈被清走，4月5日广场爆发冲突并遭清场，200多人被捕，1978年获得平反。In 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.
西单民主墙Xidan Democracy Wall
1978–1979年1978–19791978年底，北京西单一段墙上贴满大字报与民间刊物，魏京生贴出《第五个现代化》；1979年民主墙被取缔，魏京生被判刑15年，前后坐牢共18年。In 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.
六四工人与市民June Fourth Workers & Citizens
1989年19891989年，北京工人自治联合会成立，工人与市民声援学生、阻拦军车；6月3日夜至6月4日凌晨，他们在长安街一带付出最惨重的代价，工自联成员多人被判重刑乃至死刑。In 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.
坦克人Tank Man
1989年6月June 19891989年6月5日，清场次日，一名手提购物袋的男子只身站在长安街中央，挡住一列坦克的去路；照片传遍世界，他的姓名与下落至今无人确知。On 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.
唐慧Tang Hui
2006–2014年2006–201411岁女儿被拐骗强奸、被迫卖淫，母亲唐慧上访讨公道，反被劳教一年半；舆论压力下八天获释，她的案子成为2013年劳教制度废止的标志性个案之一。After 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.
厦门PX散步Xiamen PX Walk
2007年20072007年6月，厦门市民用短信串联、以「散步」的方式上街，逼停海沧PX项目；半年后项目迁址漳州，「散步」从此成为中国抗争的语汇。In 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.
乌坎村抗争Wukan Village Uprising
2011–2016年2011–2016广东陆丰乌坎村民抗议土地被卖，驱逐村官、与当局对峙，换来2012年一人一票的村委会选举；五年后，民选村长林祖銮被判刑入狱，清场再起。In 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.
新公民运动New Citizens Movement
2012–2023年2012–20232012年起，许志永、丁家喜等人推动官员财产公示与随迁子女教育平权；2013年起遭系统性抓捕，2023年许志永被判14年、丁家喜被判12年。From 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大抓捕709 Crackdown
2015年20152015年7月9日起，全国319名律师、律所人员与家属被抓捕、约谈或失联，多人被以"颠覆国家政权"判刑；十年过去，无一人恢复律师执业。Beginning 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.
四通桥抗议Sitong Bridge Protest
2022年10月Oct 20222022年10月13日，彭立发在北京四通桥挂出两条横幅，抗议清零政策与个人独裁，当场被带走，此后强迫失踪，至今下落不明。On 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.
白纸运动White Paper Movement
2022年11月Nov 20222022年11月，乌鲁木齐火灾点燃全国抗议，数十个城市与高校的年轻人举起白纸走上街头；两周之内，持续三年的清零政策终结。In 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.
白发运动White Hair Movement
2023年2月Feb 20232023年2月，武汉医保改革大幅削减退休人员个人账户入账，数以万计的白发老人两次聚集市政府与中山公园，唱起《国际歌》，要一个说法。In 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.
江油抗议Jiangyou Protest
2025年8月Aug 20252025年8月，四川江油一桩校园霸凌案处理过轻引爆全城，数千市民聚集在市政府门前与警察对峙至凌晨；官方通报、辟谣与删帖的速度，和人群聚集的速度一样快。In 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.