TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Protestors holding placards criticizing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) were seen in San Francisco amid the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit on Monday (Nov. 13).
For the first time since 2011, the U.S. is hosting the annual APEC leaders meeting from Nov. 11-17. Two protestors were photographed on Monday holding signs criticizing the Chinese government outside the summit venue and hotel where Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) is believed to be staying, reported CNA.
San Francisco police on Nov. 11 erected metal fenced barricades around the summit's venue, the Moscone Center, and are restricting entry to authorized personnel. On Monday, a Chinese woman outside the venue was seen shouting in Mandarin and holding a sign, which read in simplified Chinese and English: "Xi Jin Ping. Give me back my father, my property, my family, my justice, and my human rights."
The Chinese delegation has reportedly booked two hotels in the restricted area on a street next to Moscone Center. The St. Regis Hotel, where Xi is rumored to be staying, has recently deployed multiple security guards outside its entrance and black barriers were also erected on the street to control traffic.
Not only is the car entrance covered with white tarps, but there are also luxury cars covered in black canvas coming in and out, making it impossible to see the license plates. The hotel's second-floor windows are also fitted with frosted film, obstructing the view from the outside.
When an RTI reporter was in the midst of filming the exterior entrance of the hotel, a man speaking English with a Chinese accent could be heard repeatedly saying that the area is "private" and ordering the journalist to delete the footage. Outside the hotel, a man could be seen holding a sign, which read in bold red font, "China has concentration camps."
It also showed a person wearing a mask with the pattern of the East Turkestan flag having their mouth covered by a hand red hand, painted with the Chinese flag emerging from China.
Woman protests against Xi. (CNA photo)
Man holds sign decrying China's concentration camps. (CNA photo)
