Let All Undemocratic Systems Die Mass Protests Sweep China

Wave of protests spread across China. Wuhan residents smash parking barriers, while Xi'an taxi drivers chant, the government has no conscience. Here's to the death of all undemocratic regimes. Sichuan veterans sing defiantly while petitioning, exposing the CCP's use-and-discard nature. Former armed police officer exposes CCP. Military abuse. Soldiers forced to wash faces with bloody water. Deserters get sentenced instead. Great Depression hits China hard. 50 million homeless on the streets. 60% are youth. Beijing and Shenzhen economies in total collapse. China's military support for Iran exposes strategic ambitions. U.S. responds with tough measures in the Middle East to protect maritime security. You're watching Decoding China, where we bring you timely analysis and grounded perspectives on today's China. Wave of protests spread across China. Wuhan residents smash parking barriers, while Xi'an taxi drivers chant, the government has no conscience. In the early days of April 2026, China continued to witness protests demanding economic rights from ordinary citizens. Within just two days, hundreds of residents in Wuhan smashed parking fee barriers, while hundreds of taxi drivers in Xi'an gathered in front of the management authority and loudly criticized the government. These two incidents show that public dissatisfaction with various fees and living costs is becoming increasingly determined. In the East Lake high-tech zone of Wuhan city in Hubei province, protests against parking fees erupted once again. On the evening of April 12th, hundreds of residents in the Songdun community, which belongs to the sixth phase of Zuoling New Town, took collective action and smashed the parking barriers of the residential compound. Videos circulating on the social media platform X showed people pushing down the barriers, stepping on them, and chanting the slogan, Zuoling people rise heroically, demonstrating a strong spirit of unity. Earlier on the evening of March 24th, more than 1,000 residents in Zuoling New Town, a large resettlement area with nearly 100,000 people, organized a large-scale resistance campaign. In just one night, they successively smashed and dismantled all the parking barriers in six residential compounds, including Baihu community, Yuquan community, and Zuoling communities one through four. The action began when some elderly residents were blocked from entering the compound. It quickly spread and turned into a collective movement. The deep-rooted cause stemmed from the property management suddenly imposing fees starting at the beginning of 2026. Without holding an owner's meeting or consulting residents, the management introduced a third-party company and announced a charge of 30 yuan per month for each private car. However, since residents moved in during 2014, the area had never charged parking fees because it was resettlement land. Many people worried that the fees would continue to rise year by year. After the March protest, most compounds were forced to stop collecting fees, but some communities continued, leading to the latest round of action. Netizens on X expressed strong support with comments such as unity is strength, where there is injustice, people must rise up, and we do not want to be harvested like leeks. Many opinions stated that this was an action against the lowest-level forces of the authorities. Just one day later in Xi'an City in Shanxi Province, hundreds of taxi drivers also took to the streets. On April 13th, they gathered in front of the city's taxi management office and strongly demanded a reduction in contract fees. Under the leadership of one organizer, the crowd chanted slogans including the government has no conscience, crack down hard on illegal taxis, overthrow the management office. We want to survive. We want to eat. And reduce the fees. According to the account Yesterday, which specializes in tracking protest events, the cause lies in the difficult reality facing the traditional taxi industry. In recent years, drivers' income has dropped sharply due to fierce competition from ride-hailing services and shared bicycles, yet contract fees have remained high. Most of the profits were taken by taxi companies, which are considered front organizations acting on behalf of the authorities. This left the drivers, who performed the actual labor, struggling to make a living. When the director of the office Wang Jian appeared and spoke, the protesters repeatedly shouted apologize, apologize at him. Wang Jian said that the party secretary Ma of Lianhu District had also arrived at the scene and called on everyone to trust that the government could solve the problem. Some driver representatives were later invited upstairs for a meeting, but so far, the protest has not achieved any substantial progress. The two incidents above are only the visible part of a growing wave of discontent. In recent times, China has recorded many other major events. From March 17 to 18, thousands of residents in Xinyi City in Guangdong Province protested against the construction of a crematorium near residential areas and water sources, leading to clashes with police. In Pudian City in Fujian Province, more than 2,000 investors gathered in front of the city government to demand the return of their deposits from the Golden Wharf Group after the company stopped paying high interest rates. Data from the organization Yiyanet, which belongs to Freedom House, shows that in the third quarter of 2025 alone, China experienced 1,392 public protests, an increase of about 45 to 50 percent compared with the same period in 2024. Participants were mainly workers, small business owners, township residents, and homeowners. Analysts believe that behind these protests lies a serious financial crisis faced by local governments at the county level and below. Economic slowdown has pushed authorities to raise revenue through various fees, land expropriation, and funeral reform measures, which often leads to direct conflicts of interest with the public. At the same time, insufficient funding for maintaining stability has weakened the grassroots control capacity of the system, unintentionally creating more space for increasingly determined rights defense activities. As ordinary citizens become more willing to stand up and protect their immediate interests, similar incidents are expected to continue appearing in the coming period. Here's to the death of all undemocratic regimes. Sichuan veterans sing defiantly while petitioning, exposing the CCP's use-and-discard nature. On April 9, 2026, in front of the Sichuan Provincial Veterans Affairs Office, more than a dozen demobilized veterans turned their petition into a bitterly ironic concert. They shouted, Chinese people, stand up, and boldly sang a once-popular mainland song with a sharp political edge. Unity is strength. Let all undemocratic regimes perish. Toward the sun. Toward freedom. Toward a new China that shines with brilliant light. The reason these old soldiers had to stand in the street and sing was painfully ironic. Others had impersonated them to steal their quotas, leaving them without proper job placement after demobilization and plunging their lives into hardship. Their performance of a song demanding the death of undemocratic regimes quickly stirred public attention. Online, netizens showed no hesitation in expressing sympathy while delivering merciless sarcasm. Many compared the veterans to used condoms, while others mocked that to the CCP, those who once wore military uniforms are little more than disposable tools. Some went even further, bluntly calling the Communist Party a master at creating hell on earth and the very embodiment of humanity's evil nature. This tragic situation is not limited to Sichuan. In Yunnan, the scenes have been even more heartbreaking. Large groups of veterans staged sit-ins in front of the Honghe Prefecture government building to protest the authorities' failure to implement post-demobilization placement policies. The most shocking case occurred in November 2025 in Lulian County, Kujing City. A former militia member who had served in the 1987 Sino-Vietnamese War was forced to kneel and crawl in front of government staff and security guards just to beg for a meager living subsidy of less than 1,000 yuan per month. These men were once mobilized to the front lines, transporting ammunition through heavy fire and repairing fortifications day and night under enemy bombardment. They endured the same mortal dangers as regular soldiers. Propaganda once loudly hailed them as the most lovable people. Yet once they were no longer useful, the CCP coldly squeezed the lemon and threw away the peel, completely ignoring all its previous promises. As a result, countless veterans have fallen into desperate poverty, repeatedly petitioning for help, some even reduced to begging openly in public. From Sichuan to Yunnan, these painful images once again lay bare. The harsh truth, to the CCP, the people are merely tools. When needed, they are exploited to the fullest. Once used up, they are discarded without mercy. The regime's ungrateful, treacherous, and evil nature has been starkly exposed by the very veterans who once shed blood for it, through every note of their song, demanding that all undemocratic regimes must perish. Former armed police officer exposes CCP. Military abuse, soldiers forced to wash faces with bloody water, deserters get sentenced instead. A former member of China's armed police has spoken out to expose the reality of violence in military barracks, which stands in stark contrast to the Chinese Communist Party's long-standing propaganda that portrays the military as disciplined and honorable. The man's name is Sam, with the Chinese name Li Xiaosan. He is from Luoyang, Henan Province. He enlisted in 1998 and was assigned to Unit 8661 in Yili, Xinjiang. Sam recounted that only after joining his company did he realize everything was completely different from what was promoted in propaganda. Almost no new recruit escaped violent abuse. He said, Day after day, there was beating. If you didn't obey, if your bedding was not folded neatly, if your movements were not done properly, or if you did not genuinely report your thoughts, you would be beaten. He stated that he was one of the people who was beaten the most severely. Sam described one incident. His girlfriend sent him a radio. He had not even listened to it for one day when an older soldier took it away. Three months later, when he asked for it back, the older soldier said it was not borrowed, but taken by force. Because of this, he was beaten. He described a common punishment in the company. New recruits were forced to hold a wash basin full of water and perform squats, standing up and squatting down 500 times. For a normal person, doing 50 squats is already extremely difficult. If you could not endure it, you would be beaten. Slaps rained down continuously. In the end, what happened? Your blood flowed downward into the basin, turning the entire basin of water into bloody water. In addition, there were incidents of violence that caused serious injuries. A new recruit in the same company had slightly incorrect training posture. In the freezing Xinjiang winter, with temperatures of minus 20 to 30 degrees Celsius, an older soldier kicked him, breaking his leg directly. Later, when the soldier returned, steel pins had been inserted into his leg. In another case, a new recruit got up late during an emergency assembly. Seeing that the person was sleeping too deeply, an older soldier picked up a large dumbbell and threw it onto the bed. Under prolonged violent pressure, many people suffered mental breakdowns and even fled home. However, instead of investigating those who carried out the beatings, the military arrested the deserters, sent them to the armed police prison, and sentenced them to two years in prison. Sam emphasized that the military is an independent and closed system. If children from ordinary families are beaten until disabled, driven to mental illness, or involved in safety accidents, their parents have almost nowhere to appeal. This is because any negative incidents in the military are not reported externally, and the media does not dare to cover them. It is a forbidden zone. He made a comparison. The military is exactly like a prison. Forcing soldiers to fold their bedding into perfect squares is a way to train a normal person into a machine. Every day they are forced to watch the Xinwen Lianbo news broadcast. Even inside prison, inmates must watch the same program every day. That is why he said that serving in the military and being in prison are no different from each other. Sam believed the deeper reason is that the Chinese Communist Party does not trust those who hold weapons in their hands. Violence is both a tool to maintain stability, and something that can turn against the regime itself. He described it as a vicious cycle. The older soldiers who were beaten in the past later transferred their hatred onto the new recruits, beating them and becoming twisted. They felt happy and pleased when they saw the new recruits get injured. In the end, it evolved to the point where they no longer beat the recruits themselves, but force the new recruits to beat each other. Once a new recruit punched another so hard that he broke the other's nose. Only then was this dangerous project ended. More than 20 years after leaving the military, Sam still suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. Occasionally, he still dreams that he is running laps in the military camp, with the company commander, older soldiers, and squad leaders chasing him from behind with armed belts, beating him. Sam said he decided to tell this story so that many parents would know the truth. What you send your children into is not the military, but a prison. Your children may be beaten until disabled, seriously injured, or driven to schizophrenia. Sam's account not only reveals the chaos and violence within the military, but also shows a self-replicating and self-sustaining mechanism of violence operating within a closed space. This has led many people to reflect on what this armed force is truly protecting. Great Depression hits China hard. 50 million homeless on the streets. 60% are youth. Beijing and Shenzhen economies in total collapse. The unfolding economic collapse in China is visible in the stark personal stories of workers both abroad and at home. One phrase circulating online captures the mood precisely. I'd rather be killed by a bomb than die of hunger. This is no exaggeration. It reflects the survival choices forced upon those caught between dwindling opportunities and mounting despair. After a series of strikes by the U.S.-Israeli coalition against Iran and the subsequent retaliations, the Chinese embassy in Israel issued evacuation notices for Chinese citizens. Yet a large portion of the estimated 50,000 to 60,000 Chinese construction workers in Israel refuse to leave. The reason is simple. Income. Earning 30,000 to 80,000 yuan per month for 12-hour workdays, they are willing to risk conflict. We want to live with dignity, one worker said. Life isn't just about having enough to eat. Many paid 50,000 to over 100,000 yuan in broker fees just to get the chance to work in Israel. For them, this is an investment that must be recovered at all costs. A carpenter explained that he could earn 1,800 yuan per day, aiming to save 2 million yuan before returning. Another worker pointed out that in China, he could barely support himself, whereas after seven to 10 years abroad, he could accumulate enough for retirement. The calculus is clear. The risk of war is more tolerable than economic stagnation. At home, the picture is equally bleak. An internal survey cited in media reports revealed that by the end of August 2025, China had around 47.5 million homeless people, more than five times the number in 2020. Notably, 61% were under 33 years old, highlighting a worrying trend. China's young workforce, expected to drive growth, is increasingly vulnerable. In major cities like Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing, it is common to see people sleeping under overpasses, in subway entrances, in parks, or even in 24-hour stores. Most are not traditional homeless. They are office workers, migrants, or laborers displaced by layoffs. As savings run out, they are forced into precarious living, right in the heart of China's modern urban centers. The underlying cause is prolonged economic decline. Factories have downsized, hiring demand has plummeted, and small and medium-sized businesses are under mounting cost pressure. A person in the food industry described post-New Year revenue dropping by half or more. Rising costs for ingredients and operations, coupled with declining purchasing power, have left many shops barely breaking even or outright losing money. The middle-aged cohort faces a double blow. One man, born in 1984, recounted buying a home in Shenzhen in 2019, at the height of property prices. At the time, he was seen as a source of family pride. Today, monthly mortgage payments of over 10,000 yuan are a crushing burden. House prices are falling, and stable income is gone. After being laid off, he finds himself trapped in the cycle of paying debts while desperately seeking work. This is not an isolated case. Another middle-aged couple lost their jobs at a foreign company after years of service. Even with severance, they realize the money wouldn't last in a high-cost environment. At over 40, returning to the labor market is difficult, especially when skills are outdated or social experience lacking. Younger workers drift through temporary jobs paid by the day or accept any work they can find to survive. Many recount months of unemployment, living in disarray, income unpredictable, and gradually losing direction. The cycle of job hunting, working, growing tired, unemployment, repeats endlessly with no clear exit. Even small business owners are not spared. Running a shop means working year-round without rest, facing rising costs and falling revenue. In many cases, they bear heavier pressure than employees, with no safety net when business fails. Across all these stories runs a common thread, insecurity and survival pressure. At home or abroad, Chinese workers are forced into harsh choices to sustain life. Some leave, accepting risks. Others stay, struggling with costs and unemployment. China's military support for Iran exposes strategic ambitions. U.S. responds with tough measures in the Middle East to protect maritime security. The situation in the Middle East continues to escalate with heightened tensions. In the context of a fragile ceasefire just reached between the United States and Iran, the Chinese Communist Party, CCP, has been accused of secretly preparing to transfer new air defense systems to Tehran, including shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, MANPADS. If these accusations prove true, Beijing's actions would directly threaten U.S. forces in the region, undermine international maritime security, and risk seriously derailing the upcoming high-level U.S.-China talks. According to CNN, citing U.S. intelligence sources, the CCP plans to supply Iran with a new generation of air defense systems in the coming weeks, while deliberately routing the shipments through third countries to conceal the true origin of the weapons. U.S. President Donald Trump responded forcefully on Sunday. If the reports are confirmed, the United States will impose additional tariffs of up to 50% on Chinese goods as punishment for providing military support to Iran. He stressed that this is a necessary response to the proliferation of weapons and regional destabilization. China immediately denied the allegations. Spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, stated that China has never supplied weapons to any party involved in a conflict, while accusing the U.S. of making baseless accusations and malicious associations. However, this position starkly contradicts China's historical record, as the CCP has repeatedly provided military technology and extensive economic cooperation to Iran. To safeguard international maritime security, U.S. Central Command, CENTCOM, announced on Sunday that, under orders from President Trump, U.S. forces will implement a comprehensive maritime blockade of all vessels entering or exiting Iranian ports starting at 10 a.m. Eastern Time on April 13, 2026. The blockade covers all Iranian ports and coastal areas in the Arabian Gulf, Persian Gulf, and the Gulf of Oman. The U.S. emphasized that the measure will not affect international commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to or from non-Iranian ports. The clear objective is to prevent Iran from receiving weapons and military supplies by sea while protecting critical energy routes, a choke point that handles approximately 20% of the world's oil supply. Meanwhile, the CCP continues to display its classic two-faced diplomatic tactics. On April 13, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a phone call with Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, calling the U.S.-Iran ceasefire extremely fragile and urging the international community to oppose any actions that undermine the ceasefire. The same day, he met with the UAE President's Special Envoy on China and criticized the U.S. port blockade as incompatible with the common interests of the international community. Yet at the very same time, Beijing stands accused of secretly preparing military assistance to Iran, the very actor threatening maritime security. Data from China's General Administration of Customs shows that in 2025, about 50% of China's crude oil imports and nearly one-third of its liquefied natural gas imports came from the Middle East, mostly from U.S. allies such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the UAE. On one hand, Beijing benefits greatly from the maritime security maintained by the United States. On the other, it is accused of quietly supporting Iran and challenging that very order, starkly exposing the double standards in its foreign policy. Expert Laura Harth, China and the World Director at Safeguard Defenders, commented, The CCP has long pursued a two-faced strategy, building all-weather strategic partnerships with regimes confronting the West while portraying itself as a force for peace and stability. Its core objective is to weaken America's international standing and its global alliance system, paving the way for Xi Jinping's expansionist ambitions toward Taiwan. Similarly, Yun Sun, Director of the China Program at the Stimson Center, noted that negotiations between China and Iran on air defense systems have been ongoing for many years. Beijing may be using this issue as leverage ahead of the upcoming U.S.-China summit, scheduled for May 14-15 in Beijing. It is clear that the U.S. maritime blockade aims to protect international shipping security and counter threats from Iran. In contrast, if the accusations are accurate, the CCP's military support for Iran is the real factor destabilizing the region. The deeper motive goes beyond short-term gains. It seeks to erode America's global leadership and clear the path for Beijing's ambitions in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. Global energy security and stability in the Middle East ultimately depend on the ability of the United States and its allies to maintain regional order, not on the CCP's superficial peace rhetoric. Your feedback matters. Share your views in the comments. If this content resonated with you, we invite you to share it with your network. Your continued support empowers us to pursue independent, high-quality journalism. Subscribe and like to stay up to date with Decoding China. Thank you for watching.