“Guangdong: Lufeng Government Mobilizes Over a Hundred People to Seize Land, Clashes with Villagers (2026.06.06)”
On June 6, in the Dongjingyang area of Shidong Village, Qiaochong Township, Lufeng City, Guangdong, local authorities dispatched over a hundred personnel into the village to seize farmland for the construction of high-voltage power line towers, sparking clashes with residents.
“Zhejiang Government Deploys Police to Seize Village Land, Injuring Villagers (2026.06.05)”
On June 5, in Silin Village, Puba Town, Sanmen County, Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, the local government deployed more than a hundred police officers and government personnel to enter the village and seize land for the construction of a cemetery. Clashes broke out with protesting villagers, leaving several villagers injured. That evening, villagers gathered outside the local government office to protest.
June 6, Banshi Primary School in Changping Township, Dongguan, Guangdong. In an apparent attempt at patriotic indoctrination, school staff ordered a young student to go out onto the sports field in heavy rain to retrieve the national flag.
“Summary of Collective Resistance Events in China (Published Records) — May 2026”
In May 2026, the Yesterday project documented 59 collective resistance events occurring across China. Labor rights actions again made up a significant share of the month’s incidents, with a cluster of wage-related protests erupting around International Workers’ Day. Also notable were a rise in clashes triggered by urban management (chengguan) and traffic police confiscating stalls and vehicles, as well as increases in student demonstrations and forced demolitions. Worth highlighting: in three of the month’s larger-scale events, protesters won. These were the Ludian resettlement-estate residents who pushed back against parking fees imposed by their community management; the Leshan, Sichuan homeowners who protested the government’s failure to transfer their household registration (hukou) after they purchased homes; and the students in Wenshang, Shandong who challenged their school’s policy of keeping them late.
I. Breakdown by Protesting Group
Workers and laborers of all types: 18 incidents (30.5%)
Students and parents of students: 7 incidents (11.9%)
Homeowners and resettlement-housing residents: 5 incidents (8.5%) — including forced demolitions, stalled/abandoned housing projects, and broken government promises on household registration (hukou) transfers
Farmers/rural residents: 4 incidents (6.8%)
Bereaved family members: 4 incidents (6.8%) — including those acting alone (3) and jointly with netizens (1)
Netizens: 3 incidents (5.1%)
Other groups: 18 incidents (30.5%) — including petitioners, shop owners, vehicle owners, investors, bank depositors, street vendors, stallholders, social insurance contributors, tap water users, business owners, and patients
II. Geographic Distribution
Zhejiang: 6 incidents
Guangxi / Hunan: 5 incidents each
Jiangsu / Sichuan / Guangdong: 4 incidents each
Yunnan / Shanghai / Shaanxi / Hebei: 3 incidents each
Other regions (Ningxia, Qinghai, Beijing, Henan, Liaoning, the State Bureau for Letters and Calls, Chinese social media): 1 incident each
III. Causes of Protest
Wage arrears and labor disputes: 17 incidents (28.8%)
Specifically: unpaid wages (7), failure to pay housing provident fund/social insurance contributions (2), pay cuts (1), wage clawbacks (1), refusal to refund prepaid card balances (1), factory relocation without compensation (1), refusal to compensate for occupational poisoning (1), disguised layoffs (1), failure to pay severance (1), disputed post-acquisition compensation (1)
Forced demolition and housing disputes: 6 incidents (10.2%) — including forced demolitions (4) and stalled/abandoned housing projects (2)
Resistance triggered by chengguan and traffic police confiscating stalls and vehicles: 3 incidents (5.1%)
Medical malpractice and health rights: 3 incidents (5.1%)
Student rights (power outages, school rules, food safety, abuse): 4 incidents (6.8%)
Financial fraud: 3 incidents (5.1%)
Other causes: 23 incidents (39.0%) — including environmental damage, forced psychiatric institutionalization (被精神病), government violations of hukou transfer commitments, traffic enforcement clashes, tap water contamination, school bullying, and demands for electoral rights
Confirmed use of force or arrests: 10 incidents (approximately 16.9%)
Notable cases: multiple investors arrested after consecutive days of rallying outside Pan-China Insurance in Guangzhou; social insurance petitioners in Shanghai forcibly loaded onto buses and removed; displaced residents from Waitan Block 190 violently ejected by security guards outside Shanghai’s High Court; villagers in Pingnan, Guangxi beaten by riot police after protesting environmental damage caused by a quarry.
On June 3, in the Guanghuayuan residential compound in Futian District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, the community’s main gate was forcibly demolished by the Nanyuan Sub-district Office. Part of the compound’s parking area is also set to be seized for the construction of a municipal road. Some residents put up fierce resistance — wielding fire extinguishers and other improvised means — but were ultimately unable to protect the community’s property. One furious resident said he had paid millions for his home, only to have the gate “taken away by socialism.”
On June 4, in Longyao County, Xingtai, Hebei, following a medical incident, a local hospital summoned police, who pepper-sprayed all of the family members who had come to demand answers.
On June 4, in Bishan District, Chongqing, Yuhai Precision Manufacturing Co., Ltd. forcibly dismissed a group of older female workers without compensation. The affected workers staged a collective protest, blocking the company’s main gate.
On June 3–4, a woman in Chengdu, Sichuan, staged two consecutive days of protest at a China Ping An Insurance branch. She says she paid nearly 200,000 yuan in premiums, only to have the company reimburse just 20% of her medical expenses when she fell ill. When she went to cancel her policy, staff refused to give her a straight answer about how much she would get back, fobbing her off with the phrase “reimbursed at cash value” and pressuring her into signing the paperwork — leaving her with a refund of just over 20,000 yuan. She says others who purchased the same type of policy have received full refunds, and that she alone has been treated differently.
During the protest, the woman collapsed after becoming so distressed that she hyperventilated. Not a single staff member approached to check on her or offer assistance. She posted videos of her protest to Douyin, where they quickly amassed over ten million views before being deleted by the platform.
Documentary: The Harbin Sandstorm of May 31:On May 31, 2026, a rare and powerful sandstorm struck Harbin, the provincial capital of Heilongjiang, and the surrounding region. Thick clouds of yellow dust blotted out the sky, visibility dropped to just a few meters, and day turned instantly to night. Gale-force winds drove sand and debris across the city, damaging buildings, snapping trees in half, and overturning or crushing vehicles, as pedestrians fled through the streets in panic. The disaster left large numbers of residents injured and claimed several lives. Many eyewitnesses captured the terrifying scenes on their phones.
“Workers at Guangdong Ceramics Factory Stage Three-Day Protest Over Unpaid Wages, Clash with Police (2026.05.31–06.02)”
From May 31 to June 2, Changli Ceramics Co., Ltd. in Yunan County, Yunfu, Guangdong, abruptly notified workers of an indefinite suspension — despite owing six months of back wages and having already quietly sold off the factory. To recover their unpaid wages and prevent the company from moving assets, workers staged three consecutive days of action, blocking all entrances and exits to the factory and stopping the company from transporting goods. At one point, workers came face to face in a standoff with police who had arrived on the scene.