The quiet, leafy street in a Copenhagen suburb was an unusual place to hang election posters. But despite the lack of vehicle or foot traffic, Thomas Rohden scaled a stepladder last October to fasten posters to trees and light posts with the goal of advertising one of his main campaign promises in the upcoming local election: ending cooperation with the People’s Republic of China.
Rohden’s posters sported an image of the Tibetan flag, and while they weren’t likely to be seen by many potential voters, they were immediately noticed by Rohden’s target audience: the Chinese embassy across the street. Rohden, 26, has emerged as a staunch critic of Beijing’s policies in Tibet, Hong Kong and Xinjiang, and when the posters were mysteriously taken down only hours later, he told the media he had a strong suspicion the Chinese embassy was behind it.
Danish activist Thomas Rohden in front of the Chinese embassy in Copenhagen, where he hung election posters promisi
Subscribe or login to read the rest.
Subscribers get full access to:
- Exclusive longform investigative journalism, Q&As, news and analysis, and data on Chinese business elites and corporations. We publish China scoops you won't find anywhere else.
- A weekly curated reading list on China from David Barboza, Pulitzer Prize-winning former Shanghai correspondent for The New York Times.
- A daily roundup of China finance, business and economics headlines.
We offer discounts for groups, institutions and students. Go to our
Subscriptions page for details.