April 21, Liushutang Village, Nanjiao Subdistrict, Suizhou, Hubei: Villagers sifted through ruins for their belongings and cash after their homes were destroyed by a CCP demolition squad. According to residents, the compensation funds for their housing have been embezzled by the village committee.
April 22, Xinji, Hebei: A woman busking on the street was handcuffed by police as if she were a criminal. The handcuffs were only removed after the move sparked public outrage among onlookers. The police claimed they were responding to a complaint, though it was only around 7 p.m. at the time.
Toy Giant Wah Shing Shutters Four Guangxi Factories in One Day; 5,000 Workers Rally for Compensation (2026.04.22–23)
On April 20, 2026 — the first workday after Guangxi’s “March Third” holiday — four Guangxi factories under Hong Kong toy manufacturing giant Wah Shing Toys simultaneously announced their closure: Rongxian Huayao Toy Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Beiliu Wah Shing Yingfeng Toy Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Beiliu Wanfeng Toys Co., Ltd., and Beiliu Chuangfeng Plastic & Electronics Co., Ltd. Nearly ten thousand workers were left jobless overnight. For two consecutive days, workers staged protests demanding full payment of owed wages and legally mandated severance, but as of the afternoon of April 22, no substantive progress had been made.
Company Statement Sidesteps Specifics
In the closure notice issued to employees, Wah Shing attributed the shutdown to the external economic environment. The company stated that escalating US-China tariff tensions in recent years had caused overseas business conditions to deteriorate sharply, with end clients withholding enormous sums in unpaid orders, ultimately causing a cash flow collapse. All business operations were to cease with immediate effect. While the notice claimed the company would “prioritize employees’ statutory rights, including wages and severance pay,” it provided no details whatsoever on compensation standards, amounts, or timelines. Workers were deeply alarmed: not long ago, Wah Shing had offered workers at another of its closed factories a payout of just 0.5N — half the legal minimum. Under China’s Labor Law, the company is required to pay at minimum the N+1 standard.
A Track Record of Shortchanging Workers
Wah Shing Toys was founded in Hong Kong in 1976 and first established factories in mainland China in 1981. Over more than four decades, it opened 11 factories across Guangdong, Guangxi, and Vietnam, with a total floor area exceeding two million square meters and a workforce of around twenty thousand, ranking among the world’s largest toy contract manufacturers. In recent years, however, as the trade environment worsened and orders continued to shrink, Wah Shing had in fact been running losses year after year. In late 2025, Changrong Toy Factory in Dongguan — a 26-year-old Wah Shing subsidiary — announced its closure after orders plummeted. At the time, the company refused to pay workers the full compensation required by law, triggering days of protests, and the dispute was ultimately settled at just half the legally mandated amount. With the Changrong case as a stark warning, Guangxi workers understood clearly: in a job market that keeps shrinking, once a factory closes, finding comparable work again is nearly impossible. Taking to the streets was the only option left — to fight for a just outcome.
Days of Protest, Authorities Step In
On the morning of April 21, around 5,000 workers from three of the four factories — all except Wanfeng Toys — launched separate protest actions. At Rongxian Huayao and Beiliu Yingfeng, workers blocked the roads outside the factories to draw public attention. Some workers at Yingfeng also climbed onto the factory rooftop and unfurled three large banners. At Beiliu Chuangfeng, workers gathered and hung banners outside the factory reading: “We gave our youth to Wah Shing — don’t go bankrupt on your conscience. Pay us what we’re owed.” In both Beiliu and Rongxian, authorities deployed police to disperse the protesters, but no clashes were reported. On the 22nd, workers continued their demonstrations. A Yulin city vice-mayor was reported to have stepped in to mediate, but as of that afternoon, the workers’ efforts had still yielded no substantive results.
As China’s economy continues its prolonged decline, factories across the country have been shutting down one after another. And those who bear the heaviest cost are always the ordinary workers on the assembly line.
On April 20, in Chang’an Town, Dongguan, Guangdong, authorities deployed a large number of Chengguan (urban management officers) to forcibly evict street vendors and confiscate their food carts. According to insiders, the crackdown is intended to clear the way for a “shell company” linked to the government to force the sale of container-style stalls. These stalls come with a 50,000-yuan entry fee and a monthly rent of 8,000 yuan. Vendors who refuse to comply are banned from operating their businesses.
“Collection of Rights Defense Incidents by Veterans (Apr 16–20, 2026)”
On April 20, in Sihui City, Guangdong, a demobilized veteran who makes a living from street vending climbed onto a law enforcement vehicle in protest after his goods were confiscated by urban management officers.
On April 17, a veteran was denied access to a restroom by a security guard in the lobby of the Hunan Provincial Department of Veterans Affairs; the guard also attempted to seize his phone.
On April 16, several veterans from Nanjing, Jiangsu, were on their way to Beijing to file petitions, but were unreasonably detained by police at the south toll station of Jianhu County, Yancheng, Jiangsu.
Also on April 16, the petition reception center of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs in Beijing was overcrowded.
Starting from May 1, 2023, China’s newly revised Regulations on Conscription Work stipulate that veterans are allowed to reenlist in the military.
April 20 — Employees of the Shanhe Hotel in Zhanjiang, Guangdong, gathered at the hotel entrance to protest with banners demanding their unpaid wages. Reportedly, the hotel has failed to pay its staff for over two years.
April 19 — At Beijing Fengtai Railway Station, a woman was abducted in broad daylight by CCP police and interceptors. Despite her loud cries for help, she was brutally carried away by force.
「封城视频触发“白纸一代”的“不正确记忆”,集体冲塔(2026.04.19)」“Lockdown Video Triggers ‘Incorrect Memories’ Among the White Paper Generation, Sparking Collective Online Defiance (2026.04.19)”
4月19日,一名网友在中国的社交平台上发布了一段上海封城期间在某小区为居民表演的视频,瞬间触发大量”白纸一代”网友的”不正确集体记忆”,纷纷在评论区留言:”那时候我还像一张白纸什么也不知道”、”白纸——罄竹难书”、”总要算账的”、”乌鲁木齐中路”、”时代的眼泪”、”感谢勇敢的年轻人!”、”最后轰轰烈烈,不知道那些人现在出来了没有”。 On April 19, a netizen uploaded a video to a Chinese social media platform showing a performance for residents in a Shanghai compound during the lockdown. It instantly triggered a flood of “incorrect collective memories” among netizens of the “White Paper Generation,” who swarmed the comments section: “Back then, I was like a blank sheet of paper, knowing nothing,” “White paper—there aren’t enough words to record the grievances,” “The accounts will be settled eventually,” “Urumqi Road Middle,” “Tears of the era,” “Gratitude to the brave young people!” and “It ended in such a blaze of glory; I wonder if those people have been released yet.”
2022年以来,尽管中共竭尽全力屏蔽”白纸革命”的相关信息在中国境内的传播,但事实证明,互联网是有记忆的,这些记忆不会因独裁者的意志而消失。 Since 2022, despite the CCP’s exhaustive efforts to block information regarding the “White Paper Revolution” within China, facts prove that the internet has a memory. These memories will not vanish at the will of a dictator.
Selected Comments / 评论区精选
那时候我还像一张白纸什么也不知道 Back then, I was like a blank sheet of paper, knowing nothing.
拒绝使用一切穿过白衣的人 I refuse to associate with anyone who has ever worn those white [hazmat] suits.
为什么评论区都在说什么疫情?从来就没发生过的事,别乱造谣 Why is everyone talking about a pandemic in the comments? It never happened; stop spreading rumors. (Note: Sarcasm targeting censorship)
白纸—罄竹难书 White Paper—there aren’t enough bamboo slips to record the sins.
这个时候我还爱国,还很多次献血 At that time, I was still patriotic and had donated blood many times.
我的记忆总是被情感改头换面,我发誓要老老实实讲真话,可是讲真话的愿望有多么强烈,现实的阻力就有多大,我悲哀的发现根本讲不了真话 My memories are always reshaped by emotions. I vowed to tell the truth, but no matter how strong the desire to do so, the resistance from reality is equally immense. I mournfully realized that telling the truth is simply impossible.
总要算账的 The accounts will be settled eventually.
请问《楚门的世界》这个电影好看啊? Is that movie The Truman Show any good?
这里一定发生过什么 Something must have happened here.
乌鲁木齐中路 Urumqi Road Middle.
不存在的记忆 Non-existent memories.
叮咚鸡大革命 The “Ding Dong Ji” (Wait-for-Notice) Great Revolution.
永远都是在困难中自己感动自己 而不想想..为什么.. Always just moving ourselves to tears amidst hardships without ever thinking… why…
永远不能忘 Never forget.
或许疫情那年我就已经死了… Perhaps I already died during the pandemic year…
现在不让提了 逐渐淡化 It’s not allowed to be mentioned now; it’s gradually being faded out.
以检测到记忆正在删除 Memory deletion detected.
要不是因为有手机记录了视频,武汉肺炎那几年的记忆等于就被抹掉了,最开始那个造谣的医生大家还记得不? If it weren’t for phones recording videos, the memories of those Wuhan Pneumonia years would have been wiped clean. Does everyone still remember that doctor who was first accused of “spreading rumors”?
三针都打醒了吗? Did three vaccine doses finally wake you up?
错误的集体记忆 Incorrect collective memories.
我亲眼目睹肉体躺满了地上阳光洒下来 我不能说出口 我也不敢说 我要怎么办 我的眼泪快流干了我还不能说出来 I witnessed bodies covering the ground as the sunlight poured down. I cannot speak of it, and I dare not. What am I to do? My tears have almost run dry, yet I still cannot speak out.
时代的眼泪 Tears of the era.
自由万岁 Long live freedom.
不敢想那一年有多少人没挺到现在。 I dare not think about how many people didn’t make it from that year to now.
最后轰轰烈烈,不知道那些人现在出来了没有 It ended in such a blaze of glory; I wonder if those people have been released yet.
我们配得上经受过的苦难吗? Do we deserve the suffering we endured?
关到2022年的时候我卖了房子准备润了。没想到放开了。感谢勇敢的年轻人! By the time the lockdown reached 2022, I sold my house and was ready to “run” (emigrate). I didn’t expect the reopening. Gratitude to the brave young people!
我失去了很多记忆,不知道是怎么消失的。 I have lost many memories; I don’t know how they disappeared.
说起这段往事时,我时不时义愤填膺,身边的人总会沉默不语,用异样的眼光看着我 When I bring up these past events, I am often filled with righteous indignation, but those around me remain silent and look at me with strange eyes.
感觉自己人生被删除了三年存档 It feels like a three-year save file of my life was deleted.
疫情赶上高中 感觉2021年一整年像被抹除了记忆一样 The pandemic hit during high school; it feels as if the entire year of 2021 was erased from my memory.
乌鲁木齐 Urumqi.
留好,未来要进历史博物馆的素材 Keep this safe; it’s material for a future history museum.
在这片土地上,每个年代都有每个年代的灾难。 On this land, every era has its own catastrophe.
觉醒年代 The Age of Awakening.
遍地白无常 “White Impermanence” (ghosts of death) everywhere. (Note: Referring to personnel in white hazmat suits)
突然感觉那段记忆是假的 不知道是否真假 是否真的存在过 Suddenly it feels like those memories are fake. I don’t know if they are real, or if they ever truly existed.
家里的口罩到现在还有一收纳箱,荒唐的日子 I still have a whole storage bin of masks at home. Absurd days.
唉,那两年搞得我到现在都没缓过来。究竟是天灾还是人祸呢 Sigh, those two years messed me up so much that I still haven’t recovered. Was it a natural disaster or a man-made one?
还记得那会被封在出租屋两个多月每天用热水壶 I still remember being locked in a rented room for over two months, using an electric kettle every day [to cook].
[90 Chinese Workers Scammed Out of Over 1 Million Yuan After Traveling to Dubai for Work (2026.04.17)]
90 Chinese workers paid agency fees and deposits totaling over 1 million yuan to secure jobs in Dubai, UAE. However, upon arrival, they were housed in dilapidated, drafty shacks and have not been paid for three months. On April 17, left with no other options, the workers sought help from the Chinese Consulate-General in Dubai. It remains unclear whether the consulate will provide any substantive assistance.