Summary of Speeches
01-Xu Yingtao
Xu Yingtao pointed out that the CCP illegally seized power on October 1, 1949 and has ruled China for 77 years, and that the demand of the China Democracy Party is to end one-party dictatorship; the people have the right to overthrow a government that has not been authorized by the people and does not protect the people’s rights.
Xu Yingtao explained the original intention of the “ladder speeches”: the ladder symbolizes climbing over the wall the CCP has built between China and the outside world, so that everyone can unite into a powerful alliance of resistance.
Xu Yingtao stressed that not everyone has to become a hero; simply refusing to spread the CCP’s false narratives and practicing “disobedience” already counts as taking part in the resistance, and he welcomed people inside China to get in touch with them.
02-Li Tengjiao
Standing on the ladder, Li Tengjiao led the whole crowd in shouting slogans: “Facing the Communist Party, we do not obey! Facing Xi Jinping, we do not obey!”
Everyone present raised their fists and responded in unison, and the atmosphere was fervent.
03-Li Qiang
Li Qiang said the CCP has ruled China for 77 years; inside the country you cannot criticize the government, there is no freedom of speech or of the press, and all speech is monitored, which made Li Qiang feel extremely oppressed.
Li Qiang said that only by standing on the ladder can one see democratic countries where criticizing the government is allowed and people enjoy freedom of speech and religion.
Li Qiang called on netizens in China to disobey the CCP, not to spread its lies, to question every word it says, and not to be afraid, and he shouted, “Xi Jinping step down, Communist Party step down.”
04-Jia Zhi
Jia Zhi spoke directly to compatriots “inside the wall,” pointing out that it is not only people overseas—even people within the system curse the Communist Party, and everyone knows in their hearts what kind of regime it is.
Jia Zhi admitted that standing up is frightening, but asked the audience to look at the faces of the people present—they too are someone’s children and someone’s parents, all ordinary people.
Jia Zhi said “we are you,” hoping that people in China can identify with and accept them.
05-Ma Yite
Ma Yite said October 1 is a day of national calamity for the Chinese people and the CCP has enslaved China for 77 years; in front of the Chinese consulate in Frankfurt, Ma Yite declared to the whole world: end one-party dictatorship, China deserves democracy.
Ma Yite pointed out that because of the firewall and the information blockade, many people in China have no “ladder” and cannot learn the true information from outside.
Ma Yite called on everyone to learn to get over the wall and access the internet freely, obtain more information, unite to resist tyranny, and achieve democracy and freedom soon.
06-Cheng Jian
China Democracy Party member Cheng Jian said that in the face of autocratic tyranny and an illegal government, we must say “no” and resist.
Cheng Jian listed land reform, the Great Leap Forward, the Great Famine, the Cultural Revolution, family planning and even the pandemic, arguing that this government has not done a single right thing since the founding of the state.
Cheng Jian finally shouted: “We deserve democracy and freedom, long live democracy!”
07-Chen Xiaohong
Chen Xiaohong believes that a government’s legitimacy should come from the authorization of the people, constitutional constraints and free elections, not from a monopoly of power; Chen Xiaohong opposes the one-party dictatorship, censorship and suppression under Xi Jinping’s leadership.
Chen Xiaohong pointed out that under the current system the party controls the army, the courts, the schools and the media; the judiciary is not independent, the press is not free, and the people cannot change the government with their votes.
Chen Xiaohong’s demand is to end one-party dictatorship and establish constitutional democracy, putting the law above power and having the party withdraw from the army, the courts, the schools and the media.
08-Dai Shu
On National Day, Dai Shu asked: is what a country truly deserves to celebrate the neat military parades and GDP figures, or the dignity of every citizen?
Dai Shu pointed out that lawyers are jailed for defending clients, journalists disappear for their reporting, and ordinary people are summoned for questioning over a single word of criticism, while the wealth created by the hard work of the people is credited to the leadership of the party.
Dai Shu said that a true National Day should be a day when citizens can both cheer freely and question freely, and believes that one day the people will welcome a National Day of their own in freedom, rule of law and democracy.
09-Zhao Zhize
Zhao Zhize said that today is National Day and he came to join the “Disobedience Movement,” using poetic language to denounce how, under tyranny, the land lies shattered, the people suffer, bones pile up like mountains and conscience is drowned.
Zhao Zhize declared, “We will not sing its praises, we will not flatter it, we will not applaud it,” refusing lies, refusing fear, and refusing to live on our knees.
Zhao Zhize called for true patriotism to turn this day into a “day of awakening” rather than a “day of revelry”: “Wake up, Chinese people, do not cooperate until freedom comes.”
10-Ding Yanjun
China Democracy Party member Ding Yanjun opened with “Let democracy light up China, let freedom belong to everyone,” saying that he stood up to express ordinary citizens’ pursuit of freedom, democracy, the rule of law, fairness and justice.
Ding Yanjun opposes Xi Jinping’s personal concentration of power and the CCP’s one-party dictatorship, believing that the country belongs to the people and the people should have the right to express their opinions, participate in public affairs and choose the country’s leaders.
Ding Yanjun called for attention to the situation of ethnic minorities such as the Uyghurs in Xinjiang and the Tibetans, as well as peaceful activists and rights defenders persecuted for expressing dissenting views; the law should protect every citizen rather than safeguard privilege.
11-Li Yanlan
Li Yanlan said that today is National Day, but even more a day of national mourning; 77 years of CCP tyranny have left the people weeping: it shouts “serve the people” while fleecing them like leeks, boasts of a golden age while cries of misery fill the land, silences speech, imprisons thought, and lets corruption run rampant.
Li Yanlan pointed out that freedom and democracy have become empty talk, and “disobedience” is the most powerful resistance—no praise, no flattery, no applause, refusing lies and refusing fear.
Li Yanlan said “as long as the CCP does not fall, the national calamity will not end,” and true patriotism is turning this day into a day of awakening rather than a day of revelry for slaves.
12-Zhao Lang
Zhao Lang reflected on how totalitarian rule has tamed a generation into onlookers who “play it safe to protect themselves,” admitting that he too was once only a bystander on the streets of Hong Kong and now feels deeply ashamed; he cited the example of people in his hometown of Jiangyou who petitioned for a girl and were suppressed by the military police, denouncing the CCP’s violence against its own compatriots.
Zhao Lang denounced the CCP for being able to find dissidents overseas and threaten their families while being unable to find missing children, and talked about gray industrial chains such as organ trafficking, fraud and smuggling, as well as issues such as forced vaccination and not disclosing real population data.
Zhao Lang pointed out that silent non-cooperation such as not marrying, not having children and refusing further vaccinations is already a nationwide “Disobedience Movement,” and challenged those in power: do they dare to tear down the Great Firewall and open up VPNs so the people can hear voices from outside?
13-Hu Jianhua
Hu Jianhua read out the China Democracy Party’s statement of peaceful protest, pointing out that since 1949 the Chinese people have never decided who governs through freely contested elections, and the CCP merely monopolizes state power in the name of the people.
Hu Jianhua criticized the CCP for using the Great Firewall to restrict information and control people’s entry and exit from the country, and for branding demands for universal suffrage or public disclosure of officials’ assets as subversion; he also reviewed the history of the CCP’s early founding of its regime and its help to Soviet Russia in separating Outer Mongolia.
Hu Jianhua called on compatriots to keep thinking independently and to reject fear, silence and injustice through peaceful, nonviolent non-cooperation, stressing that “the CCP is not China; loving your country does not require loving the party.”
14-Zhang Yadong
Zhang Yadong said October 1 is not a celebration but a day of national mourning; for 77 years the Communist Party has used lies, violence and fear to turn the people into silent slaves.
Zhang Yadong listed the suffering from the Anti-Rightist Campaign, the Cultural Revolution and June Fourth to the zero-COVID policy, and declared “no singing red songs, no raising fake flags, no pretending to be happy,” fighting tyranny with non-cooperation.
Zhang Yadong called on people to remember those who were forcibly disappeared, subjected to live organ harvesting or sent to labor camps, believing that dictatorship will surely perish and freedom will surely prevail: “Refuse to be a slave, starting today.”
15-Xi Rui
Xi Rui from the China Democracy Party opened by explaining the meaning of his name, and explained that the “Disobedience Movement” is about everyone opening their mouths to say “no” to the Communist Party.
Xi Rui said that what must be rejected is not only the CCP’s ideology but also the feudal customs it has carried on for more than two thousand years, and that he fights for freedom of speech, human rights, property rights and personal ideals.
Standing on the ladder outside the consulate in Frankfurt, Xi Rui said “no” to the CCP, Xi Jinping and the ninety million party members, refusing to accept their ideology and news propaganda.