Poppy Press

On May 2nd, 2024 at 5:30AM, I was arrested at UCLA for protesting the genocide in Palestine. I felt my wrists bent behind me and secured with a zip tie. The police then peeled off my helmet, goggles, keffiyeh, and N95 mask, baring my face to the crisp morning air and the blinding lights of the news cameras. I looked into the light and smiled. 

A long wait on the curb outside of Haines Hall and a bumpy ride on the prisoner bus ensued. As I was released from jail, messages from friends and acquaintances flooded my inbox, all linking the same post. An alt-right account, @LivePDDave1, had posted my arrest video and it was going viral. More accounts, fueled by hatred of women, Chinese people, and pro-Palestine protesters, hopped on the dogpile with glee. They called for people to “Name her and mark her with an X” and “Investigate the CCP connections,” gloating that “She won’t be smiling after the body cavity search.” These vile comments were grounded in misogyny, Red Scare rhetoric, and Sinophobic yellow peril ideology, implicitly and explicitly threatening pro-Palestine protesters.

Anti-CCP propagandists even began to fabricate details of my supposed identity, alleging that I was “Liu Lijun,” a graduate student sent by China to instigate protests. This xenophobic fake story was so outrageously wrong that I had to laugh! To set the record straight, I was an undergraduate student born and raised in the United States. You’d also be hard-pressed to find any links to the CCP since I, embarrassingly, can barely speak Chinese. Even the name “Liu Lijun” is so far off that it has become an inside joke among my friends. These accounts didn’t care that their claims were false, though – I was just a convenient tool to undermine, silence, and paralyze the movement for Palestine.

Eventually, the attention died down – only to reappear in early 2025. As the Trump administration began to put their wildest fascist dreams into motion, Twitter account @Inevitablewest tweeted the video with the caption, “Chinese national who organises pro-Palestine rallies at UCLA, Liu Lijun, has just had her visa revoked. The Trump admin isn’t playing about.” 

Once again, without a single source or shred of evidence, this story went viral. It deceived millions of people, both sympathetic and antagonistic. This time, the false claim sinisterly echoed the reality of international students, documented or not, who are currently being targeted by unprecedented and illegal kidnappings and deportations. Further, it perfectly summarizes the threats encoded in the tweets and their ensuing commentary: don’t protest for Palestine, or we’ll deport you. Don’t protest for Palestine, or we’ll find you, expose you, investigate you, and assault you. 

The reality of the situation is grim. We are living under a government and administration that is expressing its fascism in the most outright form that recent years have seen. However, make no mistake – the foundations that enable these horrific acts have always existed. State surveillance, policing, and the criminal punishment system have long abused their power to further the exploitation of our communities, maintaining the status quo. These systems have always existed, and our communities have continuously resisted, learning and developing our tactics. The knowledge and skills are there – it’s just a matter of putting them to use. 

In times when the government can no longer assuage the resentment of the exploited, they turn to force. While fear is a natural response to our circumstances, it must not turn into defeatism. We must become more cautious and tactical, but we cannot be timid. It would be a disservice to generations of organizers before us, let alone those facing genocide in Palestine, to surrender in your mind before the battle has concluded. 

One year ago, Palestinians were facing more horrific circumstances than most of us in the West could ever imagine. Today, this fact has only worsened. The burning alive of journalists like Hilmi al-Faqaawi and the torture and mutilation of prisoners like Mohammed Abu Tawila are no less despicable and agonizing than they were in October of 2023. The Gaza Strip lives on, yes, but it has been bombed to oblivion, millions of Palestinians are facing starvation and disease, and the suffering of Palestinians grows greater every day. “Israel” advances their genocide every day, systematically murdering and displacing every single Palestinian in the Gaza Strip, and our states are complicit.

Our moral imperative to act must be as strong, if not stronger, than it was the first day of the genocide – than it was on the day that Palestine was first occupied. Occupation, torture, starvation, and genocide still have not stopped Palestinians from moving towards liberation. the flimsy fear tactics of a dying empire must not stop us either. Check your sources, protect your communities, and remain steadfast in mind and spirit under any circumstance.

“Sooner or later, it will end, and we will rebuild our lives from the beginning. That’s what we Palestinians have been doing for so long. We are the most resilient on earth, and nothing can defeat us.” – Medo Halimy

In solidarity,

Liu Lijun