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Chinese President Xi Jinping insult in Sydney street sparks tense stand-off
www.dailymail.co.uk
By Andrew Prentice For Daily Mail Australia 16:55 BST 30 Apr 2022 , updated 04:18 BST 02 May 2022
Drew Pavlou, 20, enraged some local residents with the critical message to the Chinese leader at Eastwood in Sydney's north-west.
As he and a friend were circled by a gang of locals screaming abuse at them, the stunt threatened to spiral out of control, and Mr Pavlou had to be protected by police.
At one stage one of the locals grappled with Mr Pavlou's sidekick, who was filming the tense showdown, with the stand-off caught on camera by another bystander.
A political activist caused a huge stir at a Sydney shopping centre on Saturday after carrying a sign which read 'F*** Xi Jinping' (pictured, stunned locals in Eastwood vent their anger towards Drew Pavlou)
Eastwood has one of the highest Chinese populations in Sydney, and Mr Pavlou's action caused an incendiary reaction.
It only took seconds for many stunned shoppers and stallholders to vent their fury at him over the sign.
Mr Pavlou posted footage of the clash on Facebook showing him surrounded by angry stallholders at the Asian market, yelling abuse at him.
'F*** you, motherf***er,' one screamed at him repeatedly. 'It's free speech!'
Another punches the sign and tells him: 'America has genocide, not Xi Jinping.'
And several women call the man a coward and tell him to 'f*** off' as he stands in the street with his hands behind his back in the face of the abuse.
He tells the crowd he's not a coward and has not threatened anyone, and invites them to hit him while his hands are behind his back.
Police eventually restored calm after they intervened to keep the sides apart.
Drew Pavlou later defended his conduct on Facebook, stating 'Australia is a democracy and we should be free to insult any leader no matter how coarsely'
'My point is a simple one - I should be able to insult a dictator like Xi Jinping in my own country without being physically assaulted and attacked,' Mr Pavlou posted on Facebook.
'Australia is a democracy and we should be free to insult any leader no matter how coarsely - this is a simple principle of free speech.
'No way would I have been surrounded by 50 people and physically assaulted if I held up a sign saying 'F*** Scott Morrison' in Sydney.
'Why should Chinese ultra-nationalists get a free pass to assault people in Australia if someone insults Xi Jinping?'
www.dailymail.co.uk
By Andrew Prentice For Daily Mail Australia 16:55 BST 30 Apr 2022 , updated 04:18 BST 02 May 2022
- Daredevil activist Drew Pavlou enraged shoppers in Sydney's north-west
- He held up a crude sign at Eastwood Shopping Centre saying: 'F*** Xi Jinping'
- Some locals reacted furiously at the obscene insult to the Chinese President
Drew Pavlou, 20, enraged some local residents with the critical message to the Chinese leader at Eastwood in Sydney's north-west.
As he and a friend were circled by a gang of locals screaming abuse at them, the stunt threatened to spiral out of control, and Mr Pavlou had to be protected by police.
At one stage one of the locals grappled with Mr Pavlou's sidekick, who was filming the tense showdown, with the stand-off caught on camera by another bystander.
Eastwood has one of the highest Chinese populations in Sydney, and Mr Pavlou's action caused an incendiary reaction.
It only took seconds for many stunned shoppers and stallholders to vent their fury at him over the sign.
Mr Pavlou posted footage of the clash on Facebook showing him surrounded by angry stallholders at the Asian market, yelling abuse at him.
'F*** you, motherf***er,' one screamed at him repeatedly. 'It's free speech!'
Another punches the sign and tells him: 'America has genocide, not Xi Jinping.'
And several women call the man a coward and tell him to 'f*** off' as he stands in the street with his hands behind his back in the face of the abuse.
He tells the crowd he's not a coward and has not threatened anyone, and invites them to hit him while his hands are behind his back.
Police eventually restored calm after they intervened to keep the sides apart.
'My point is a simple one - I should be able to insult a dictator like Xi Jinping in my own country without being physically assaulted and attacked,' Mr Pavlou posted on Facebook.
'Australia is a democracy and we should be free to insult any leader no matter how coarsely - this is a simple principle of free speech.
'No way would I have been surrounded by 50 people and physically assaulted if I held up a sign saying 'F*** Scott Morrison' in Sydney.
'Why should Chinese ultra-nationalists get a free pass to assault people in Australia if someone insults Xi Jinping?'
