{{Short description|Chinese activist}} {{family name hatnote|Peng|lang=Chinese}} {{Infobox person | name = Peng Lifa | native_name = 彭立发 | native_name_lang = zh | other_names = Peng Zaizhou (online name)<ref name="VOA 2023"/> | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = Drawn portrait of Peng Lifa | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1974|1|7}}<ref name="DW 2024"/> | birth_place = Heilongjiang, China | disappeared_date = {{disappeared date|2022|10|13}} | disappeared_place = Haidian, Beijing, China | disappeared_status = {{missing for|2022|10|13}} | occupation = Activist | known_for = Beijing Sitong Bridge protest | spouse = Han Yang<ref name="VOA 2023"/> | children = 2<ref name="VOA 2023"/> | honours = named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by ''Time'' magazine in 2023 }} '''Peng Lifa''' ({{lang-zh|s=彭立发|p=Péng Lìfā}}; born {{birth date|1974|1|7}}<ref name="DW 2024">{{Cite web |date=2024-01-09 |title=迎来50岁生日 "四通桥勇士"彭立发仍遭秘密羁押 |trans-title=Celebrating his 50th birthday, 'Sittong Bridge Warrior' Peng Lifa remains in secret detention |url=https://www.dw.com/zh/迎来50岁生日-四通桥勇士彭立发仍遭秘密羁押/a-67924868 |access-date=2024-08-22 |publisher=Deutsche Welle |language=zh}}</ref>) is a Chinese democracy activist who initiated the Beijing Sitong Bridge protest in October 2022 before the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. He was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by ''Time'' magazine in 2023.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2023/ |title=Time 100 |magazine=Time |date=April 13, 2023 |access-date=April 15, 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Reporter |first=Micah McCartney China News |date=2023-10-25 |title=Beijing's 'Bridge Man' protester Peng Lifa leaves legacy in China |url=https://www.newsweek.com/china-protest-peng-lifa-1837668 |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=Newsweek |language=en}}</ref>
== Career and activism == thumb|Peng (dressed in orange) was brought into a police vehicle, on Sitong Bridge. Peng worked for an acrylic products firm called Beijing Melon Network Technology Co., Ltd.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=December 29, 2022 |title=Peng Lifa (彭立发) |url=https://www.nchrd.org/2022/12/peng-lifa-%e5%bd%ad%e7%ab%8b%e5%8f%91/ |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=Chinese Human Rights Defenders |language=en-US}}</ref> He wrote articles on electromagnetism.<ref name=":1" />
On October 13, 2022, Peng initiated the Beijing Sitong Bridge protest by posting a banner on the {{ill|Sitong Bridge|zh|四通桥}}.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Yuan |first=Li |date=2022-12-07 |title=China's Protest Prophet |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/07/briefing/china-protest-peng-lifa.html |access-date=2023-04-15 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Peng draped protest banners from Beijing's Sitong Bridge. They unfurled to reveal exhortations against China's zero-COVID policy, calling it a violation of freedom of expression and demanding real elections and political reform.
Peng further challenged General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping on October 13, 2022, by shouting through a loudspeaker, "We want to eat. We want freedom. We want votes!." He is suspected to have been detained by the police.<ref name=":1" /> His slogans spread across the country with comparisons being made between Peng and the Tank Man.<ref name=":0" /> His act was described by BBC News as "one of the most significant acts of Chinese protest seen under Xi's rule."<ref name="bbc">{{Cite news |date=October 21, 2022 |title=China congress: How one man on a bridge marred Xi Jinping's big moment |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-63339816 |access-date=2022-10-24}}</ref>
Though the ''New York Times'' published an article on December 7, 2022, naming him "Peng Lifa," the protester's identity has not been confirmed.<ref name="bbc" /> However, some believe him to be an academic physicist and have flooded a Twitter account assumed to be linked to the protester with messages of admiration.<ref name="bbc" /> ''The Wall Street Journal'' and Radio Free Asia reported that some activists believed the protester to be Peng Lifa, also known as Peng Zaizhou, a 48-year-old physics enthusiast.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Fan |first1=Wenxin |last2=Lu |first2=Shen |date=October 22, 2022 |title=Beijing Protester's Battle Cry Sends Ripples Worldwide |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/beijing-protesters-battle-cry-sends-ripples-worldwide-11666442368 |access-date=November 27, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Chinese police pressure family of U.S.-based student over support for "Bridge Man" |work=Radio Free Asia |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/overseas-chinese-10212022152902.html |access-date=November 27, 2022}}</ref>
In April 2023, Peng was named to the ''Time'' 100 list of the most influential people in the world for his pro-democracy activism.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Weiwei |first=Ai |author-link=Ai Weiwei |date=2023-04-13 |title=Peng Lifa: The 100 Most Influential People of 2023 |url=https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2023/6269835/peng-lifa/ |access-date=2023-04-15 |magazine=Time |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hu |first=Yuli |date=April 14, 2023 |title=時代雜誌百大影響力人物 關繼威、周受資等5華人上榜 |trans-title=Time magazine's top 100 influential figures Guan Jiwei, Zhou Shouzi and other 5 Chinese are on the list |url=https://udn.com/news/story/6809/7098081 |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=聯合新聞網 |language=zh-Hant-TW}}</ref>
== Fate == {{As of|2023|October}}, according to sources familiar with the case cited by VOA, Peng Lifa remained in detention at a location described as unknown.<ref name="VOA 2023">{{Cite web |last=Ye |first=Bing |date=2023-10-12 |title=Protester Who Unfurled Anti-Xi Messages from Beijing Bridge Still Detained Year Later |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/protester-who-unfurled-anti-xi-messages-from-beijing-bridge-still-detained-year-later-/7309045.html |access-date=2024-08-17 |publisher=Voice of America}}</ref>
Peng Lifa's family continues to face significant government scrutiny and control. His close family members are under constant surveillance and have not been provided with any legal documents related to his case. Despite efforts, his relatives and friends have been unable to hire a lawyer to provide him with legal assistance.<ref name="VOA 2023" />
Peng Lifa's wife and daughters are under strict government surveillance, with their every move accompanied by government personnel. Their daily commutes to work and school are arranged by the authorities, and their personal cell phones have been confiscated — ostensibly for "protection" — and replaced with government-issued phones. Peng's siblings have been summoned to the local police station for questioning. His father-in-law, previously a small business owner, has been reassigned by the Public Security Bureau to work and live in a small factory, where he remains under surveillance. His mother-in-law is also believed to be under surveillance. In addition, his two sisters-in-law, the husband of one of them, and his brother-in-law have been questioned at their workplaces.<ref name="VOA 2023" />
== Personal life == Peng was born in 1974 in Heilongjiang.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> {{As of|2023|October}}, his wife and two daughters, both of whom have been described as minors, all reside in Beijing. His brothers and sisters are farmers in Tailai, Heilongjiang Province, and his parents have both died due to illness.<ref name="VOA 2023" />
== See also == * List of Chinese pro-democracy activists
== References == {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lifa, Peng}} Category:Living people Category:1974 births Category:Physicists from Heilongjiang Category:Chinese democracy activists Category:21st-century Chinese physicists Category:Enforced disappearances in China Category:Missing Chinese people