The China Bridge Man inspires protests against Xi Jingping worldwide

Last Thursday, a man placed banners on a bridge in China's capital that accused Xi as dictator. The same was soon arrested, but photos of his action spread worldwide.

Since then, similar signs and messages have appeared on several university campuses in the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and beyond.

We, the people of China, want to spread this message that speaks our minds in countries without censorship”, it was said on one of the supporting tables.

Many people are repeating messages shown last week on the Sitong Bridge in the Beijing Haidian district. Some posts also show messages against the current president, such as “

On Instagram and Twitter, some accounts of Chinese activism have asked followers to pay attention to Beijing Protesters “to crack down on” and to take action during the week of the Communist Party Congress.

Also, there have been increased security in Beijing on days after the protest, with police and additional personnel deployed to bridges in the city to avoid such anti-government actions.

Even according to reports, some social network users, “WeChat” who distributed photos of the protest online, have been suspended.

A man reportedly was arrested after he shared photos on Twitter that could be accessed to China through a virtual private network.

Activists have expressed fear for the well - being of the “bridge man, while praising him for the protest he disguised as a street worker, shouting banners at the speaker, and setting tires on fire.

Videos from the scene showed that the man was captured by police officers and put in a car. But Chinese police have refused to answer BBC questions about the incident.

The protest took place on the eve of the 20th Communist Party congress, which will last until the end of this week. Xi is expected to be elected party leader for a third term, cementing his control over power.