Peng Lifa (彭立發), the protester dubbed “New Tank Man” (新坦克人) who hung anti-Xi Jinping banners on Beijing’s Sitong Bridge in October 2022, has been sentenced to nine years in prison on charges including “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” and arson, according to reports from The Chaser News citing the protest-monitoring platform Yesterday. The 51-year-old activist, who disappeared following his arrest, was reportedly transferred to prison two months ago to serve his sentence. Peng’s bold protest, which demanded freedom from pandemic lockdowns as well as the removal of Xi Jinping from office, came ahead of the “White Paper Movement” protests that erupted in China the following month.
Lingua Sinica is an interactive online resource under the China Media Project (CMP) that explores the capacity and sustainability of Chinese-language media environments globally in their full domestic context and traces the lines of impact and engagement by PRC media and institutions.
