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对于厌倦抗议的市中心居民来说，她是一个非常积极、强大和有韧性的希望象征
她两岁随父母来到加拿大，现在21岁，是渥太华大学学生。
最下面的图上是，2022 年 2 月 17 日星期四，在Kent St. 一名抗议者的卡车朝她的方向开来，对她进行恐吓，李泽西与渥太华警方交谈。Who is Zexi Li? An overwhelmingly positive, strong and resilient symbol of hope for protest-weary Centretown residents
As lead plaintiff in a class-action suit against convoy organizers and participants, and perhaps more so for the injunction that temporarily silenced the truck horns, Li is seen by many as the key figure in a ragtag band of residents who refused to go quietly into that noisy night after day after night, as unlikely a group of superheroes as the Marvel franchise could ever dream of: the Three Grannies, Blue Jacket Guy, Balcony Man, Pot-and-Ladle Man, and Zexi Li.Author of the article: Bruce Deachman
Publishing date: Feb 25, 2022 • 2 hours ago • 5 minute read • 6 Comments
Zexi Li says she is “overwhelmingly positive … I knew I could take whatever the protestors threw at me because I’m a strong person. I’m resilient. They threaten and intimidate, but I’m not afraid. They’re trying to break my spirit, but guess what? They can’t do that.” PHOTO BY TONY CALDWELL /Postmedia
Sitting at a table in the atrium of a downtown office building, Zexi Li is met with an almost endless parade of well-wishers — some of whom she knows, others she doesn’t — each taking the opportunity to thank her. This, it’s easy to imagine, is how Wayne Gretzky must have felt in Edmonton in the 1980s.
To some, Li is the cheerful young woman who, as a University of Ottawa student, was once a concierge in a couple of nearby residential towers. Others know her as the outgoing neighbour — she lives just blocks away — who loves baking and giving away macarons. Others simply recognize her as that 21-year-old who took action — legal action — against the “Freedom Convoy” when it appeared for all the world that city hall and Ottawa’s police force had abandoned downtown residents as collateral damage, claiming it a “success” that no one had yet been killed.
As lead plaintiff in a class-action suit against convoy organizers and participants, and perhaps more so for the injunction that temporarily silenced the truck horns, Li is seen by many as the key figure in a ragtag band of residents who refused to go quietly into that noisy night after day after night, as unlikely a group of superheroes as the Marvel franchise could ever dream of: the Three Grannies, Blue Jacket Guy, Balcony Man, Pot-and-Ladle Man, and Zexi Li.
“In many ways, Zexi was exactly what we needed as we were going through this trauma,” says Coun. Catherine McKenney, whose Somerset ward bore the brunt of the occupation. “She was brave enough and smart enough to do something that actually made people’s lives better — something that no one else did.
“She was that hero that we needed to remind ourselves that we will come out of this and connect with each other again, and have faith in each other.”
Li’s actions, McKenney adds, also underlined how every institution, including all levels of government, failed Ottawa’s residents.
“She certainly gave me, and people in Centretown, hope.”
Indeed, Li is being lauded on social media platforms awash in suggestions she receive the Order of Canada, the key to the city, or run for mayor. A poster, fashioned after the iconic 2012 Obama campaign graphic, adorns utility poles. North & Navy restaurant invited Li and the other crusaders to dinner. Her actions inspired Ottawa high-school teacher, musician and photographer Curtis Perry to compose Injunction, a five-minute string quartet piece dedicated to Li.
“Li’s actions show the power and importance of civic engagement,” says Perry, “and that sometimes this take a bravery that many of us might find difficult to find. I hope and trust that she will be recognized and remembered for this long after the fact.”
Zexi Li what she witnessed on the streets of Centretown was “the absolute opposite of everything I stand for and what I believe is right. It was so very wrong.” PHOTO BY TONY CALDWELL /Postmedia
Li came with her parents to Canada from China when she was two years old, first to Scarborough, and then, after her parents divorced, downtown Toronto and Montréal. She attended uOttawa after being told she could skip her CEGEP year and enrol straight out of high school. Originally studying commerce and accounting, she switched to business technology management and subsequently joined the federal public service.
Despite her involvement in the events of the past month — her first foray into activism — Li says she’s no social-justice warrior. Instead, she might better be described as a community warrior, with confidence in herself and nothing but love for her neighbours.
“I am overwhelmingly positive,” she says, a state that took some effort to reach following a difficult childhood marked with mental-health challenges. “I don’t linger on the negative. I recognize the value of the good things, and that value is so much more than anything negative could ever be.”
What she witnessed on the streets of Centretown was “the absolute opposite of everything I stand for and what I believe is right. It was so very wrong.”
That positive outlook helped Li through the Pandora’s box of hate and vitriol, accusations, lies, ignorance, misogyny, racism, doxxing and death threats she experienced, which she anticipated when she first put her name forward.
It wasn’t a position she sought, however. At first, she was simply a downtown resident frustrated by the numerous times she’d reached out to police, either in person or by phone, and got no relief. An Ottawa police community liaison officer agreed to meet with Li and residents in her building to hear their grievances, and afterwards, one resident approached her to tell her of a lawyer, Paul Champ, who was seeking a lead plaintiff for the suit.
Lawyer Paul Champ says private investigators have been gathering information about the trucks at the demonstration, logging licence plates and tracing owners through provincial registries. PHOTO BY SCREEN SHOT /Zoom
“We were lucky to connect with Zexi,” says Champ, “because she’s clearly someone who cares about the people in the community. It was such a confusing and traumatic time for the people of Ottawa when you had these hooligans, in many cases, running around downtown threatening and intimidating people while at the same time waving Canadian flags and trying to claim that they were demonstrating Canadian values. Downtown was becoming utterly lawless, and people just felt abandoned by police and the mayor, and helpless.
“And when Zexi became a lightning rod for these protestors and their supporters to attack publicly, she was resolute and brave in saying what needed to be said,” Champ adds. “She gave everyone in Ottawa a symbol to look to and say, ‘This is who we are. We’re not these yahoos running around downtown with flags and whatnot.’ She got into this eyes wide open, and really became a beacon for all of us going through it.”
Li’s resolve was even more impressive, says McKenney, because she stepped into the fray without knowing the support she’d receive from residents.
“She came in with nothing. To be 21 years old and put yourself out publicly to the abuse she received is remarkable.
“Today, we all know who Zexi Li is, but when this started, she was alone.”
Li knew she was putting a bull’s eye on her back when he stepped forward, but saw little option.
Zexi Li speaks with Ottawa Police after a protester intimidated her by moving his truck in her direction on Kent Street on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. PHOTO BY TONY CALDWELL /Postmedia
“They started torturing us from Day 1, and my Spidey sense told me that if they’re doing this, they had the intention to make themselves heard at any cost. They were holding us hostage, and I never thought they’d leave of their free will, and they didn’t. Meanwhile, the police were gaslighting us, saying it was a successful operation and that it was peaceful.
“I knew I could take whatever the protestors threw at me,” she adds, “because I’m a strong person. I’m resilient. They threaten and intimidate, but I’m not afraid. They’re trying to break my spirit, but guess what? They can’t do that.”
What’s in store for the newest 21-year-old activist who admits she grew up not just apolitical, but anti-political?
“I grew up thinking politics is evil, with a lot of corruption and power struggles,” Li says, “and because of that outlook, I’ve been apolitical all my life. But what all this has made me realize, especially the nonsense going on at city council, is that the people who don’t like politics need to be in politics. Because the people who love politics, they’re not doing us justice.
“So where the door was shut and locked before, it’s a crack open now, and while not committed to it, I’m peeking through.”
Who is Zexi Li? An overwhelmingly positive, strong and resilient symbol of hope for protest-weary Centretown residents
Sitting at a table in the atrium of a downtown office building, Zexi Li is met with an almost endless parade of well-wishers — some of whom she knows, others she doesn’t — each taking the opportunity to thank her.
