An outspoken activist who held up a sign which read ‘F*** Xi Jinping’ at a busy Asian market could be charged over the brazen stunt.
Drew Pavlou, 20, antagonised an angry mob with the obscene message to the Chinese President at Eastwood Plaza in Sydney’s north-west on Saturday.
Mr Pavlou quickly provoked a furious reaction at the crowded shopping centre as dozens of locals made their disapproval of the stunt known.
The activist took to Twitter on Sunday to tell his followers he had been contacted by NSW Police, who said they intended to press charges.
New South Wales police just called me to tell me I’m getting charged for holding a sign saying ‘Fuck Xi Jinping’ in Sydney,’ he tweeted on Sunday afternoon.
‘They won’t tell me what the exact charge is and they won’t tell me whether the men who physically assaulted us are being charged.’
Several of his followers expressed their shock at the threat of formal charges, which Mr Pavlou described on Instagram as ‘so unfair’.
‘Simple intimidation tactics. There is no law against foul language and there is no law against insults,’ one user replied.
‘Unfortunately the police will treat your situation as inciting public unrest, which it was,’ another commented.
Mr Pavlou said if he had to ‘potentially get bashed and charged for holding a protest’ for talking about the Chinese President ‘so be it’.
A NSW Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia officers were investigating an alleged assault that occurred during political protest activity at Eastwood Plaza.
There were no reports of any serious injuries and no charges have been laid.
n footage of the tense showdown the activist and a friend were circled by shoppers who screamed abuse, forcing officers to protect the pair.
At one stage one local grappled with Mr Pavlou’s sidekick, who was filming the stunt, with the stand-off caught on camera by another bystander.
Eastwood has one of the highest Chinese populations in Sydney, and Mr Pavlou’s provocative 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?’
Mr Pavlou was widely lauded by his followers on social media, who acknowledged his public conduct was dangerous, but felt it sent a strong message.
‘Stay safe, Drew! This is typical barbaric behaviour by Chinese Communist Party supporters. Hope they all get deported so they can enjoy their ‘freedom’ under Xi’s rule,’ one said.
Another stated ‘that’s why people can’t and don’t like CCP supporters. How can we allow dictatorship to spread their voice in our country?
‘I bet those Chinese people won’t dare to do the same thing abusing their politicians in Beijing. Double standard of some Chinese people.’
Brisbane-based Mr Pavlou was in Sydney to support Kyinzom Dhongdue, the Tibetan-heritage Democratic Alliance candidate for the seat of Bennelong.
In July 2019, at the height of the Hong Kong protests, Mr Pavlou organised a protest at the University of Queensland in support of the Hong Kong democracy movement.
He was later suspended by the university who accused him of 11 cases of misconduct – but was able to return and continue his politics degree this year.
In December 2021, he launched the Drew Pavlou Democratic Alliance (DPDA) federal political party, pledging to fight corruption, protect human rights, tackle poverty and homelessness and build a green economy.