The U.S. Embassy in China on Wednesday posted a photo featuring a Hong Kong protest scene on its Chinese social media page as it called for mainland citizens to “speak out bravely” on the eve of Human Rights Day.

In a message posted on Sina Weibo, a popular Chinese microblogging platform, the embassy invited mainland internet users to share their views during a virtual talk to mark Human Rights Day on Thursday. During the talk, experts will discuss challenges facing freedom of expression worldwide and address questions from audiences, it said.

The post featured a photo that showed protesters raising their hands to signal “five demands, not one less” — a rallying cry stemming from pro-democracy demonstrations that started in Hong Kong last year. The scene was believed to be a street in Hong Kong and was packed with protesters.

“To bravely speak your minds on issues and take part in peaceful protests are the most fundamental aspects of life in a free society,” the embassy said in the message.

Images showing Hong Kong protests are usually removed from social media platforms under China’s internet censorship policies. By the time of publication on Wednesday evening, the embassy’s message remained on Sina Weibo and recorded more than 3,000 comments.

Many of the comments were negative, however, with one user writing: “94% of people are satisfied with the current government. Why protest?” Another mainland internet user questioned why Twitter blocked messages posted by U.S. President Donald Trump. “Is this what you call freedom?”

Meanwhile, two recent surveys put Hong Kong’s rule of law and press freedom in worsened conditions.

In this year’s World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, Hong Kong ranked 38th in fundamental rights, dropping five places compared to last year. China ranked 126th, only faring better than Egypt and Iran, out of 128 countries and regions.

Hong Kong also slipped seven places to its record-low 80th spot in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders. The city was listed as a region with a “noticeable problem” in press freedom.

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