Demonstrations took place in cities around the world on 1 October, as campaigners sought to puncture the carefully choreographed image of unity and harmony the Chinese Communist Party projects on its National Day. In London, several dozen protesters gathered that evening, among them Hongkongers living in exile alongside members of other communities who say they have suffered under Beijing’s rule.
Hong Kong demonstrators unfurled a large vertical banner bearing the Pillar of Shame, a monument now barred from public display in Hong Kong itself, positioning it directly outside the gates of the Chinese embassy. Staff there appeared to have anticipated trouble: barriers had already been erected and two security guards posted at the entrance. Midway through the rally, police vehicles arrived after officers said they had received a complaint from the Chinese consulate that the entrance was being obstructed. Protesters held their ground regardless, and the demonstration dispersed peacefully shortly after 7.30pm.
Despite the occasion, no flag was flown outside the embassy. One speaker suggested wryly that the regime seemed “too ashamed of itself to even fly its own flag.” Christopher Mung, the Executive Director of the Hong Kong Labour Rights Monitor used his address to highlight the scale of political imprisonment under Communist Party rule, pointing to the recent sentencing of Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung as among the most prominent cases. He urged attendees to carry forward the convictions of those behind bars, so that their sacrifice would not be in vain.
A Uyghur participant held a placard reading “CCP Celebrate But Genocide Demands Justice”, drawing attention to what rights groups have described as crimes against humanity in Xinjiang’s internment camps. Tibetan demonstrators condemned the recently passed “ethnic unity” legislation, warning it risked becoming a further tool for eroding ethnic identity. The rally also drew participants from the Chinese diaspora, including figures who took part in the 1989 pro-democracy movement, who led chants calling for an end to Communist Party rule and for Xi Jinping to step down.