“Not the Foreign Force”

By Chen Pinlin

“Not the Foreign Force” (2023), directed by filmmaker Chen Pinlin, captures the raw defiance of China’s “White Paper protests” during the final days of the Zero-Covid policy. The movement was sparked by a tragic fire in Urumqi, Xinjiang, on 26 November 2022, where strict lockdown measures restricted timely evacuation of a housing estate, causing the death of ten people. The film shows how a single vigil in Shanghai, following this incident, ignited a nationwide movement that led the government to immediately lift all Covid-19 restrictions. Using footage from the protesters and the public, Not the Foreign Force captures the anger and frustration of citizens facing increasingly harsh lockdowns, overpriced food, and forced quarantines under China’s Zero-Covid policy. The film presents these experiences with stark clarity, showing the collective struggle against state control and the determination of ordinary people, especially among the youth, to reclaim their freedom.  

About the director

Chen Pinlin, also known by his online alias Plato, is a Chinese filmmaker who documented the “White Paper protests” against the Zero-Covid policy. Alongside an anonymous female friend, Chen filmed the protests in Shanghai, which became the basis for his documentary. He was arrested on 28 November 2023, shortly after releasing the film online, and was formally charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” facing a five-year sentence. Although his trial took place in June 2024, no verdict has yet been announced, and Chen remains detained in Shanghai’s Baoshan District Detention Centre.