A Chinese soccer legend called for the ouster of the Communist Party in China and for the establishment of a “Federal State of New China.” Hao Haidong, 50, is a household name in China. He was the start of the Chinese national team for soccer when the country made its only World Cup appearance in 2002. That has made him even more popular and to this day, he is the country’s biggest soccer star. Up until today, Hao still holds the record as the country’s top scorer for both the national team and in the Chinese league.

Hao made the call on videos that were featured on the Youtube channel of Guo Wengui, an exiled Chinese businessman who has been criticizing the Chinese government. There were two videos that feature hao. The first one showed him reading from a manifesto for a government that has been proposed by Guo to replace the communist regime once it has been abolished.

“The Communist Party’s totalitarian rule in China has caused horrific atrocities against humanity,” Hao said, adding that the communist party is a terrorist organization.

The second video was a lengthy interview which also featured Hao’s wife, who is a former badminton champion. The couple said that they are ready for the inevitable attacks that would be carried out by the Chinese government against them.

It is very rare for such a high-profile personality to criticize the Chinese government. The dissidents who usually speak out against the communist party are arrested and jailed for a long time. Hao is the most high profile athlete who has openly called for the ouster of the Chinese regime. What is also unusual is the intensity of his attacks against the Chinese regime.

Hao’s videos have caused a lot of buzz in China, even if Youtube is a blocked platform there. People were still able to access the videos through other platforms. Internet users there were confused and they were unsure if the videos were real or fake. It seemed so unlikely that a personality of Hao’s stature would do something like that.

Hao is supposed to be living in Spain. It is unclear what his ties to Guo are but the videos are major publicity stunts for the New York-based businessman. The Chinese communist party has taken swift action and has censored any mention of the video and even of Hao’s name on their own internet.

It is unlikely that Hao will convince the Chinese people to revolt against the communist party but as a PR stunt, the videos are a massive success.