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Tibetans, Uyghurs, Hongkongers, and Chinese dissidents gathered in Washington DC, on Wednesday and Thursday in a sustained mobilisation against Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit, bringing their concerns over Tibet and other rights issues to the streets as Xi arrived in the US capital on September 23.

The mobilisation intensified on Thursday, September 24, when demonstrators assembled outside the Chinese Embassy carrying Tibetan national flags, placards, and banners and chanting slogans directed at Xi and the Chinese Communist Party. The protesters later marched towards the White House, where US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcomed Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, during a state arrival ceremony on the South Lawn.

The demonstrations unfolded amid heightened security and a series of confrontations between protesters and pro-China counter-demonstrators.

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For Tibetan protesters, the mobilisation has centred on opposition to Beijing’s assimilation policies in occupied Tibet and calls for greater international attention to Tibetan political, cultural, and religious rights. Uyghur and Hong Kong activists have likewise used the demonstrations to highlight their own concerns over policies they say have restricted political and civil freedoms.

The protests have consequently brought together several diaspora communities with distinct political grievances but a shared opposition to aspects of Beijing’s policies. Their presence in Washington has created a parallel narrative around Xi’s state visit—one focused on human rights, cultural and political freedoms, and the right to dissent.

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