Women’s Day Parade in NYC 2025—WRIC Supports Sisters in Prison China
Women’s Rights in China (WRIC) 03-09-2025
(Videos are at the back. All images and videos are copyrighted by Women’s Rights in China)
Women’s Rights in China(WRIC) members express solidarity with sisters in prison China.
On March 8, 2025, on International Women’s Day, various women’s groups and individuals in New York City gathered and marched through Manhattan. The assembly took place at 11 AM at Washington Square Garden, followed by a march to Union Square Park. Over 10,000 people participated, including elderly individuals, children, and male supporters. Along the way, chants and songs were heard, and once they reached Union Square on 14th Street, people took turns speaking, expressing their demands. Female participants were particularly joyful, celebrating Women’s Day and fully expressing their voices.
In addition to gathering, singing, and dancing at the two public squares, what drew attention were the various signs and cartoons raised by the people. The content of the signs can be categorized into three main themes: first, promoting feminism; second, advocating for LGBTQ rights; and third, expressing dissatisfaction with the current policies of Donald Trump in the U.S. There were also more niche slogans, such as those supporting NGO group Women’s Rights in China (WRIC) , including solidarity with female human rights defenders and female political prisoners in China, as well as supporting Ukraine.
Before the event, some organizations that registered for the march had planned to bring more radical or violent cartoons or signs with provocative messages. However, after receiving a polite email from the event organizers, who expressed concerns about the potential for police interference due to concerns about the signs being considered inappropriate in a public space, the organizers requested participants to avoid such materials to prevent disrupting the atmosphere for other participants. As a result, this year’s march was smaller than the one held eight years ago, and the banners and signs were relatively more subdued.
The most eye-catching banners were those held up by our organizations WRIC, which had slogans in Chinese and English. During the event, many people asked if the women depicted on the signs were in prison, so we explained the situation to them. They all expressed their support.
The main slogans on our banners represent two categories of women who jailed by CCP: one is women who were wrongly imprisoned in mental hospitals by the Chinese government because of their human rights work, such as Li Yixue and He Fangmei ; the other is political prisoners like Wang Xueqin and Chow Hang-tung. Including women from Xinjiang, Tibet and other ethnic groups.
However, Zhang Jing, president of the WRICO organization, said: “I am a little disappointed that the immigration issue has not received more attention. In fact, it is one of the focuses of widespread social attention in recent years.” There were very less slogans related to immigration this time: “Immigrants are not criminals!” This was proposed by our Chinese Women’s Rights Organization. Of course, many people at the meeting also agreed with this message. During Trump’s first term in 2016, New Yorkers’ March focused on a wider range of issues, and even the Communist Party of the United States set up a booth at the rally.
After many years, the WRIC group participated in this large-scale march again. Although the participants were mostly the difference of members, but our mission and demands remain unchanged.
