Chen Pinlin (陈品霖), also known under the pseudonym “Plato,” is an independent documentary filmmaker from Shanghai. In November 2022 he filmed the street protests on Shanghai’s Urumqi Middle Road that followed the deadly apartment fire in Urumqi, Xinjiang; a year later he assembled the footage into the documentary 《乌鲁木齐中路》 (Urumqi Middle Road), released internationally as “Not the Foreign Force.” He was detained in late November 2023, shortly after the film appeared online, and in January 2025 was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” — one of the harshest known punishments handed to anyone who documented the 2022 White Paper protests.
The protests and the film
On the night of November 26, 2022, crowds gathered on Urumqi Middle Road (乌鲁木齐中路) in Shanghai to mourn the victims of a November 24 residential fire in Urumqi, where COVID lockdown measures were widely blamed for obstructing escape and rescue. Demonstrators held up blank sheets of paper — a symbol of censorship — and called for an end to the “dynamic zero-COVID” policy; some chanted for broader political change. The protests spread to cities across China and became known as the White Paper movement (白纸运动), the largest wave of street protest in China since 1989.
Chen filmed the Shanghai gatherings alongside a female friend. According to his own account published when he released the film, taking part in the November 26 march was the first time he had ever voiced political demands in public. On the movement’s first anniversary in November 2023 he released a 77-minute documentary built from that footage, titled 《乌鲁木齐中路》, sharing it on YouTube and X — both platforms blocked in China — often under his “Plato” pseudonym. The film’s English title, “Not the Foreign Force,” was his answer to official attempts to blame the protests on foreign instigation.
In a statement accompanying the release, he wrote that he wanted to explore “why, whenever internal conflicts arise in China, foreign forces are always made the scapegoat,” adding: “Only by remembering the ugliness can we strive toward the light. I also hope that China will one day embrace its own light and future.” (as quoted by the MCLC Resource Center, translating his release post)
Detention, prosecution, sentence
- November 2023: Chen was detained by police in late November 2023, days after the documentary appeared online (widely reported as November 28–29, 2023). His social-media and video channels were subsequently shut down, according to secondary reporting. His female friend who filmed with him was released on bail, per the same secondary account.
- January 5, 2024: Formal arrest approved by the Baoshan branch of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau on suspicion of 寻衅滋事 (picking quarrels and provoking trouble).
- February 18, 2024: Case transferred to the procuratorate for indictment review.
- January 6, 2025: Closed trial at the Shanghai Baoshan District Court; Chen was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months’ imprisonment for 寻衅滋事罪.
The prosecution’s case, as disclosed by the rights website 维权网 and reported by VOCO News, alleged that Chen “fabricated false information through filmmaking and spread it online, causing serious disruption of public order,” and that he “reposted and quoted remarks insulting national leaders, damaging the national image and seriously harming national interests.” Reporters Without Borders, which reported him as 33 years old at sentencing, condemned the verdict as punishment for documenting historic protests.
His reported term runs to May 27, 2027. Whether he appealed is not established by the sources consulted.
International response
The sentence drew condemnation from press-freedom and film organizations. Reporters Without Borders called the verdict evidence of “utter contempt for the right to information” and urged pressure for his release. The International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (ICFR) and the Federation of European Screen Directors (FERA) called for his immediate and unconditional release. Coverage of the case appeared in CNN (via Nectar Gan’s reporting, summarized by China Digital Times), the BBC’s Chinese service, and the MCLC Resource Center at Ohio State University. Rights advocates have continued to screen the film internationally.
Status note
FreeChina’s Issue 131 roster baseline (September 2026) listed Chen Pinlin as detained/pretrial in Shanghai; independent reporting consistently records a 3.5-year sentence handed down on January 6, 2025. He is treated here as currently incarcerated under that sentence; the roster baseline appears stale on this entry.
Media Profile & Archive — Chen Pinlin: interviews, the documentary Urumqi Middle Road (Not the Foreign Force), coverage chronology, and source provenance are collected in his companion media archive: Chen Pinlin (陈品霖) — Media Profile & Archive.