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On 4 June 1989, Chinese troops ruthlessly suppressed peaceful protests by students and workers in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of people were killed and the right to free assembly has been severely restricted ever since.
Across the country, the number of protesters is growing as college campuses and other locations see a return to activism. But with repressive laws in place, the right to protest remains at risk. This year, ICNL has tracked 32 state and local bills that impose restrictions on protests or threaten activists with harsh prison sentences and fines. The bill tally includes five federal proposals, including the Safe and Secure Transportation of American Energy Act, which would criminalize protests of planned or operational gas pipelines.
The bill count does not include dozens of other state and local laws that have already been passed this year or are currently being debated, which impose additional restrictions on protesters, such as permitting requirements or licensing fees. We encourage you to use our new interactive map and explore these other bills in your area.
In China, a month after the Urumqi fire, peaceful protests broke out in universities and cities throughout the country, demanding better support for victims and an end to strict lockdown measures. Those protests were remarkable in the scale and ferocity of their demands, but also in how many brave Chinese people were willing to risk prosecution just to speak out.