Thousands Protest Start Of APEC Summit

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Thousands of protesters packed Embarcadero Plaza Sunday to protest the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, which is taking place in San Francisco this week and is the biggest international event in San Francisco since the creation of the United Nations in 1945. One of the most highly anticipated events of the summit is a meeting between President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Activists protesting a number of issues – including the Israel-Hamas War, climate change, corporate profits, and cost of living, among many others – marched from Harry Bridges Plaza at the Embarcadero to the George Moscone Center. The rally and march included leaders from United Auto Workers, the San Francisco Labor Council, the Palestinian Youth Movement, and many others who said leaders at the summit were crafting and promoting unjust policies.

Dozens of police in riot gear lined up in front of barriers in front of Moscone, according to a report in The San Francisco Chronicle. At 4:15 p.m., rally organizers tried to stop protesters from getting too close to the police, and one woman was hit in the head by a water bottle thrown by a driver stuck in traffic.

More protests and barricades are expected throughout the week at a summit that plans to draw more than 20,000 world leaders from Pacific Rim countries. Personnel from the Secret Service, the California Highway Patrol, the San Francisco Police Department, and other agencies have set up heavy barriers around the site of the conferences.

The summit has a history of protest and police confrontations. In 2019, Chile withdrew as the host due to mass protests. In 2022, Thai police fired rubber bullets into a crowd of protesters, injuring many.

The summit is leading to many traffic headaches, including lane closures in both directions on the Bay Bridge, a closure of the Embarcadero on Nov. 15, and a closure of the area bordered by Market, Fifth, Second and Harrison streets.