By: Gabrielle Dankanich
Chairman, Catholic University of America Young Americans for Freedom
Imagine you are at home, drinking your morning coffee, reading through censored news and suddenly officials show up at your door and force you to go with them. You have no idea where you are going and you wonder if you accessed an illegal website or maybe the government found out what religion you practice. Eventually, you come to realize that you are imprisoned with no hope of being released. This is what is happening in China today.
It is far too clear that Xi Jinping and the Communist Party of China (CCP) are responsible for egregious human rights violations, diminishing the freedom of the Chinese people and threatening freedom across the world. For this reason, I found it necessary to organize a protest through my chapter, Catholic University Young Americans for Freedom.
Right outside the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), students and Chinese dissidents joined together to be a voice for the voiceless. In America, we are guaranteed the right to freedom of speech. Despite attempts by the Left to scare opposition and shut down speakers, we are still able to criticize the government and one another without the fear of being thrown into a concentration camp or having our organs harvested in a Chinese prison.
Students held signs advocating to Free China from President Xi Jinping’s bloodthirsty dictatorship. One sign read “Shoo Away Pooh,” poking fun at Xi who censored any comparisons of himself to Winnie the Pooh from China. The sign also had Winnie the Pooh holding a balloon, symbolizing the Chinese Spy Balloon that traveled the entire continental United States this February.
Staring at the hideous embassy, we noticed that curtains were being lifted up slightly for phones to be slid against the glass, documenting our show of opposition. Clearly, the CCP was not happy that a group of students they couldn’t censor were showing support for the CCP’s victims.
As Americans and as students, we have a responsibility to promote the freedoms of each human being, especially for those who reside in a country oppressed by a communist dictatorship.
After all, Chinese students here in America are not safe from the evils of the CCP just because of the water between the two countries. Chinese students studying on college campuses in the United States rightfully fear Xi Jinping’s evil regime. The CCP punishes the families of pro-democracy Chinese students to demonstrate the government’s ultimate control over its people.
At the protest, some pro-democracy Chinese students in the DMV area last weekend attended. Wanting to use his voice to advocate for freedom without putting his family in danger, one student needed to cover his face and head to remain anonymous.
No one should have to hide their identity to advocate for basic freedoms.
Luo Shengchun, a Chinese activist and dissident here in the U.S, joined us outside the Embassy. Luo addressed the crowd, explaining that her husband, Ding Jiaxi has been imprisoned by the CCP since 2019 for advocating for human rights in China. Charged with subversion of state power, the CCP has reportedly ordered his torture.
The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China is an ugly symbol of authoritarianism and oppression in the capital of the free world. YAF understands that the fight for freedom is necessary to ensure the happiness and prosperity of individuals. Recall President Ronald Reagan’s famous statement, “Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction.”
