WASHINGTON, September 24, 2026 — As Chinese President Xi Jinping sits down with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday for their formal bilateral meeting, thousands of demonstrators from Tibetan, Uyghur, Hong Kong, Taiwanese, Southern Mongolian, and Chinese democracy communities plan to march through Washington declaring Xi “not welcome,” according to organizers cited by wire reports.
More than 2,000 Tibetans from across North America are expected to join Uyghurs, Hong Kongers, Taiwanese, Southern Mongolians, and Chinese democracy activists for a daylong mobilization, the IANS news agency reported Thursday, citing organizers. The day is to begin with a demonstration outside the Chinese Embassy, followed by a march through Dupont Circle to the U.S. Capitol, an afternoon coalition rally near the Capitol — where members of Congress are expected to appear — and an evening candlelight vigil and community program at Franklin Park.
The Tibetan Youth Congress and the Capital Area Tibetan Association are leading the Tibetan mobilization, supported by the International Campaign for Tibet, Students for a Free Tibet, and the Tibetan National Congress, according to the report. Named speakers at the Capitol rally include Tibetan Youth Congress President Tsering Chomphel, International Campaign for Tibet President Tencho Gyatso, and Capital Area Tibetan Association President Tenzin Norbu. Uyghur, Hong Kong, Southern Mongolian, and Chinese democracy leaders — including Omer Kanat, Frances Hui, Enghebatu Togochog, and Shengchun “Sophie” Luo — are also scheduled to participate, with International Campaign for Tibet Executive Director Ryan Fioresi speaking during the evening program.
Organizers said the protesters would highlight political prisoners, religious freedom, transnational repression, and threats to cultural and linguistic identities under Xi’s government, per the report.
Separately, East Turkistan and Tibetan advocacy groups announced a protest at Lafayette Park near the White House on Thursday at 10 a.m., the ANI news agency reported Wednesday. Organizers called it a unified call for justice, freedom, and self-determination, accusing Beijing of colonial subjugation and serious human rights violations against Uyghurs, Tibetans, and other ethnic communities, and demanding the restoration of independence for East Turkistan and Tibet.
The demonstrations are among the largest Tibetan-led protest mobilizations in Washington since Xi’s visit was announced, following a 200-mile walk by Tibetan activists from New York to Washington earlier this month ahead of the summit.
A second, smaller march is also expected to converge on Washington Thursday: the “Rangzen Walk,” in which 13 Tibetans and one Kalmyk set out from the United Nations Headquarters in New York on September 17 to honor Tibetan independence activist Lobga Rangzen, who self-immolated in front of the UN on July 2, 2026, according to the Tibet Post International. The group — led by two Tibetan mothers and including Kunga Norbu, son of Taktse Jigme Norbu and nephew of the Dalai Lama — marched via Philadelphia’s Independence Hall and is set to arrive in Washington on September 24 to protest Xi’s arrival and demand Tibetan independence, the report said.
On Wednesday, ahead of Xi’s arrival, Tibetan youth activist Tenzin Namgyal of Students for a Free Tibet unfurled banners reading “Dictator Xi, Your Empire Will Fall” and “Free Tibet” outside the Capitol Building, the Tibet Post International reported, adding that he was taken into police custody afterward. The custody detail could not be independently corroborated.
The summit arrives amid an intensifying push from rights advocates and lawmakers for Trump to raise China’s human rights record with Xi. Fortify Rights has urged Trump to seek the release of detained Zion church leaders, Jimmy Lai, and Uyghur scholars, while House Democrats have pressed Trump to condemn Beijing’s new Ethnic Unity and Progress Law. Beijing’s ambassador to the U.S. has warned that democracy and human rights are “red lines” that cannot be crossed.
The protest demands resonate with cases the Free China Movement has documented: Wuhan activist Zhang Yi remains detained in Lhasa under an “inciting secession” investigation after showing a photograph of the Dalai Lama, and Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai, 78, is serving a 20-year sentence under the National Security Law after years largely in solitary confinement.
Attendance figures and rally outcomes are as announced by organizers ahead of the events and are not yet independently confirmed. This story will be updated as the day unfolds.
Sources
- IANS: “Over 2,000 Tibetans to protest Xi’s US visit in Washington”
- ANI: “East Turkistan, Tibetan groups to protest against Xi Jinping near White House during visit”
- Reuters: “Trump welcomes Xi to Washington looking for a trade win”
- Tibet Post International: “Tibetan Independence March Begins at UN to Honor Lobga Rangzen and protest Xi Jinping”
- Tibet Post International: “Tibetan Activist Confronts Xi Jinping’s U.S. Visit With ‘Free Tibet’ Banner Protest”