A protestor remotely activated a hidden projector in Chongqing, casting anti-Communist slogans on a high-rise for 50 minutes.

In the days leading up to the Chinese Communist Party’s September 3 military parade, anti-Communist slogans were projected onto a high-rise in Chongqing University Town on the night of August 29, marking one of the boldest acts of dissent in recent years. The giant messages, including “Only without the Communist Party can there be a new China. Freedom is not a gift, it must be reclaimed” and “Down with red fascism, overthrow the Communist Party’s tyranny,” remained visible for more than 50 minutes on the night of August 29 before police intervened.

The protest’s initiator, 43-year-old Qi Hong (戚洪), had carefully prepared the act weeks in advance. He checked into a hotel apartment near University Town in early August, concealing a high-powered projector and a surveillance camera in the room. For days, he tested the devices by projecting harmless phrases onto nearby buildings. He then left China with his wife and daughters and flew to the United Kingdom. On the night of the protest, August 29, he remotely activated both the projector and the camera, which recorded police as they raided the room and discovered the equipment.

In interviews with overseas media, Qi said he was deeply inspired by the 2022 Sitong Bridge protest, when physicist Peng Lifa (彭立發) unfurled banners in Beijing declaring “We want votes, not leaders.” Peng is reportedly serving a nine-year sentence on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” Observers widely see the Chongqing projection as a continuation of that act of defiance.

Qi told foreign media he could not accept the CCP’s “hate education,” particularly propaganda aimed at the United States and Japan. He accused the government of distorting history and promoting politicized nationalism to shape young people’s values, weaken their hope for the future, and erode tolerance.