Chinese political slogans spark graffiti free-for-all on east London wall

The graffiti wall in Brick Lane – before it was whitewashed over by the council – showing some of the 24 Chinese characters in bold red representing ‘core socialist values’ overlaid with subsequently added slogans and comments. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian

It began with a group of artists and a propaganda slogan: 24 Chinese characters painted in bold red, stretching nearly 100 metres along Brick Lane in London’s East End.

But over the weekend, the Chinese government slogan promoting – ironically or not – the country’s “socialist core values” was swiftly transformed into a forum scrutinising Xi Jinping’s communist rule after garnering attention on social media.