Peng Lifa

Peng Lifa (Chinese: 彭立发; pinyin: Péng Lìfā; born 1974) is a Chinese democracy activist who initiated the Beijing Sitong Bridge protest in October 2022. He was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023.

Peng worked for an acrylic products firm called Beijing Melon Network Technology Co., Ltd. He wrote articles on electromagnetism.

On October 13, 2022, Peng initiated the Beijing Sitong Bridge protest by posting a banner on the Sitong Bridge [zh]. Peng Lifa 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.

One banner criticized Xi Jinping as a "national traitor" and another said "We want food, not PCR tests. We want freedom, not lockdowns. We want respect, not lies. We want reform, not a Cultural Revolution. We want a vote, not a leader. We want to be citizens, not slaves."

Peng Lifa further challenged Xi on Oct. 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. His slogans spread across the country with comparisons being made between Peng and the Tank Man. His act was described by BBC News as "one of the most significant acts of Chinese protest seen under Mr Xi's rule."

Though the New York Times published an article on 2022/12/07 naming him "Peng Lifa," the protester's identity has not been confirmed. 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. 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.

In April 2023, Peng was named to the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world for his pro-democracy activism.

Peng was born in 1974 in Heilongjiang. He has a daughter.