From March 17 to 19, 2026, hundreds of villagers in Shuikou Town, Xinyi City, Guangdong Province took to the streets for three consecutive days, demanding that authorities scrap a crematorium project situated near their village. They clashed violently with police on two separate occasions. In the days that followed, authorities deployed large numbers of riot police into the villages in an attempt to suppress dissent by force. Yet on March 25, the villagers refused to be intimidated and took to the streets once more to defend their homes.
Although the protest was once again met with violent crackdown, and the crematorium project now appears all but inevitable, the villagers of Xinyi have shown remarkable courage and solidarity in the face of overwhelming pressure. Under authoritarian rule, such resistance may rarely prevail — yet resistance is human nature. Where there is oppression, there will always be defiance. The cries of Xinyi’s villagers today may not change the fate of their village, but they have made visible to the world that in this land, there are still those who stand — with their own flesh and blood — to defend the most basic human dignity.
Thousands of Wuhan Residents Resist Collectively, Tearing Down Toll Barriers Across Six Residential Communities (2026.03.24)
On the night of March 24, 2026, a large-scale collective act of resistance shook the city of Wuhan. In Zuoling New Town, located in the East Lake High-Tech Development Zone of Hubei Province, thousands of residents spontaneously gathered and proceeded to dismantle toll gate barriers at six residential communities one after another, putting an end to the property management company’s plan to impose mandatory parking fees.
Background
Zuoling New Town is the largest resettlement community in Wuhan’s East Lake High-Tech Zone. Residents began moving in from 2014 onward, and the community now has a permanent population of nearly 100,000, including approximately 40,000 villagers relocated from the original Zuoling Subdistrict. In the more than ten years since the community was established, residents had never been charged for parking.
Around the 2026 New Year, the property management company suddenly brought in a third-party firm and announced it would charge residents a monthly parking fee of 30 yuan, installing toll barriers at the entrances and exits of each community. The news immediately sparked a fierce backlash among residents.
Several residents stated that, given the resettlement nature of the land and the fact that they already pay property management fees, they are entitled to free parking. What further angered residents was that the property company had neither convened an owners’ assembly nor sought residents’ input before implementing the charges. Some residents also worried that if the fees were successfully introduced this time, costs could rise year after year going forward.
Escalating Conflict
Since the mandatory fee policy took effect, sporadic resistance had been ongoing — incidents of toll barriers being damaged, dismantled, or rammed by vehicles were reported across multiple communities. Starting March 19, elderly residents of Baihu Community were the first to launch a coordinated collective action: after being blocked from entering the community, they staged a sit-in protest at the gate, leading to multiple direct confrontations with fee collectors.
In the days that followed, the spirit of resistance continued to spread. Residents notified one another and called for collective action. During this period, one homeowner drew on Articles 275 and 278 of the Civil Code and other relevant provisions to write an article explaining the procedural and property-rights legal issues with the new charges, urging neighbors to stand together and defend their rights. The article circulated widely throughout the community.
Thousands Forcibly Dismantle Barriers Across Six Communities
By the evening of March 24, the situation escalated further. The resistance was ignited first in Baihu Community — after a brief standoff with the fee collectors, some elderly residents forcibly tore down all the toll barriers in that community. News spread quickly, and the elderly residents’ actions drew support from other homeowners. Thousands of villagers left their homes and joined the effort.
The wave of resistance then swept through Yuquan Community, Zuoling Community No. 4, No. 3, No. 2, and No. 1 in swift succession, with toll barriers at each location demolished one by one. By the time the night’s action was over, every single toll barrier across all six communities had been completely removed. This collective act of resistance — sparked first by the elderly and rapidly engulfing the entire community — ended in a total victory for the residents. Whether they can hold onto this outcome, however, remains to be seen.
In March 2026, in Shuikou Town, Xinyi City, Guangdong Province, hundreds of villagers staged three consecutive days of protests after local authorities pressed ahead with plans to build a crematorium near their village without public consent, leading to two violent clashes with police.
Documentary: “The Unified Resistance of Tens of Thousands: Lufeng, Guangdong Defies the Firecracker Ban”
In Lufeng, Guangdong, the Chinese New Year Youshen (Parade of the Gods) is the most grand, frenetic, and unifying traditional folk event of the year. To welcome the passing deities, villagers ignite mountainous piles of firecrackers and fireworks, engulfing the streets in thick smoke and deafening blasts. The scene is as staggering as a “battlefield”—a ritual used by locals to pray for a life that is “red and booming” (prosperous). However, in 2026, despite fierce opposition from the villagers, Lufeng authorities forcibly implemented a “firecracker ban,” prohibiting the practice during the festival. This ultimately ignited a large-scale citywide protest.
Student “Uprising” Erupts in Dezhou, Shandong: Dorms Trashed, Instructors Flee in Panic (February 1, 2026)
On the night of February 1st, a student “uprising” that sent shockwaves across the internet erupted under the cover of darkness in Dezhou, Shandong Province. That night, inside the Dezhou Huandi Xianglong Quality Education Base, the long-maintained order of oppression was shattered. There were no uniform slogans; instead, the air was filled with the crisp sound of shattering glass and the long-suppressed fury of the youths. Students, who had long endured oppression, broke through the blockade and smashed the dormitory doors and windows that symbolized their imprisonment. Meanwhile, the instructors—who usually brandished batons and lorded over the students—collectively crumbled and fled in panic when faced with genuine resistance.
Public records indicate that the institution involved, “Huandi Xianglong Quality Education Base,” is a subsidiary of Shandong Huandi Jinhui Education Management Co., Ltd. While the institution markets itself as a professional training base focused on youth development issues, it is, in reality, a typical “internet addiction treatment” and behavior correction school. Institutions of this nature have long existed in China, notorious for their militarized, enclosed, and punitive management styles. It is reported that the school houses approximately 200 to 300 students, divided into three sections. The protest erupted in “Section 3,” known for having the harshest management. According to insiders, most of the instructors are retired two-year conscripts who employ extremely harsh management tactics. Some are described as psychologically twisted, and corporal punishment has become the norm. It is common occurrence for students to be beaten with batons or placed in solitary confinement for minor infractions. Furthermore, the living conditions are squalid, and the food is appalling.
The seeds of resistance had been sown long ago, but the spark that lit the fuse was yet another instance of an instructor beating a student. Reports suggest the action was initiated by a “student assistant.” Enraged students smashed doors, windows, and extensive dormitory facilities, engaging in violent physical clashes with the instructors. Some students were injured during the conflict. After the situation spiraled out of control, the instructors fled the school en masse, and some students also left the camp. Subsequently, police intervened and cordoned off the school.
For a long time, such schools have operated in a regulatory gray area between education, training, and psychological intervention. Under the guise of “doing it for the child’s own good,” they establish order through confinement, fear, and absolute obedience, yet rarely solve the adolescents’ underlying psychological issues. Sending children to such institutions is often a way for some families to “pass the buck” following perceived educational failures: unwilling to face the fractures in the parent-child relationship or address the lack of companionship and deep psychological needs, parents attempt to outsource the problem to a crude and simplistic “reform system” for a solution.
Within these high walls, tragedies are endless. The fury of the Dezhou youths is paved with the blood and tears of countless historical tragedies. From Deng Senshan in 2009, to Lingling in 2014, and Li Ao in 2017; from the notorious Yuzhang Academy to Henan Yashengsi and Anhui Zhengneng… The riot at Dezhou Huandi School was not the frenzy of a mob, but the desperate roar for survival from countless “Li Aos” and “Linglings” trapped in a hopeless situation.
Documentary: Thousands of “Digital Moms” Rally to Support “Xiao Luoxi”
“Most netizens came from provinces and cities outside of Ningbo, with some even traveling from Xinjiang, over 4,000 kilometers away.”
“With the exception of personnel arranged by the court itself, no one was permitted to enter the courtroom to observe the proceedings.”
“Many netizens who could not be there in person sent supplies such as milk tea and mineral water to those on-site via food delivery apps.”
“One young female delivery worker even purchased heat packs for the netizens at her own expense.”
“Network signals were suspected to have been jammed by the authorities, preventing them from sending out real-time updates. Additionally, multiple netizens reported that their livestreams were blocked and their accounts banned.”
“Dozens of ‘unidentified individuals’ appeared at the scene. Organized by ringleaders, they held national flags and shouted slogans; some even mistakenly shouted ‘Go elementary school students’ instead of ‘Go Xiao Luoxi.’ After being rejected when attempting to distribute flags to the netizens, these individuals briefly clashed with the crowd.”
“Their performance was called out on the spot by a brave woman who asked: ‘Who paid for these flags? Do you think people can’t see you’re acting? What kind of patriotic charade are you staging here?'”
“At noon, the trial concluded. The ride-hailing vehicle carrying Xiao Luoxi’s mother appeared inside the court compound. The crowd instantly erupted, shouting slogans such as ‘Stay strong!’, ‘Go Deng Rongrong!’, and ‘Long live the Chinese people!’ Suddenly, the vehicle stopped. Xiao Luoxi’s mother and grandmother stepped out, bowing and kneeling to thank the netizens. Witnessing this scene, the netizens on-site were moved to tears.”
“On that day, none of the ‘Big Vs’ (verified influencers), internet celebrities, or stars that netizens had expected showed up. The scene was filled entirely with the most ordinary ‘digital moms’ and ‘digital dads’ from across China. As one netizen stated: ‘Only ordinary people help ordinary people.’ Another netizen commented on social media: ‘If Xiao Luoxi loses, that will be the best advertisement for sterilization. Because we ordinary people cannot protect our own children.'”
Top 10 Collective Protest Incidents in China in 2025: A Tribute to the Unsung Heroes
Bidding farewell to the stifled silence of 2024, 2025 witnessed a gradual resurgence of civil resistance in China. From farmers and workers fighting for survival, to students and parents fighting for dignity, to netizens standing up against injustice faced by others, increasingly more people chose to confront their fear and refuse silence. In this year, anger was no longer an atomized whisper. On the internet, tens of millions of “Digital Moms” relayed the call for justice for “Little Luoxi”; in Pucheng, Shaanxi, tens of thousands of citizens took to the streets for a student they never knew; on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, farmers resolutely demanded to “Dig up Xi Jinping’s ancestral grave first”; and in Jiangyou, Sichuan, protesters shouted a rare political slogan: “Give us back democracy.”
The following are the Top 10 Collective Protest Incidents in China in 2025, selected by the “Yesterday” Project:
10. Parents’ Rights Defense in Tianshui Kindergarten Poisoning Case
Time: July 1 – July 20, 2025 | Location: Maiji District, Tianshui, Gansu
This was a “man-made disaster” driven by profit and devoid of humanity. To enhance the appearance of their food to attract enrollment, the Heshipeixin Kindergarten in Maiji District, Tianshui, knowingly added toxic industrial pigments to the children’s meals over a long period, causing lead poisoning in over two hundred toddlers. Even more shocking was that the test data from the local CDC severely contradicted results from authoritative hospitals elsewhere. Parents, exhausted from traveling everywhere to seek medical help, painfully discovered that public power was attempting to cover up the truth to maintain “stability.”
On July 20, 2025, facing “bullying clauses” forced upon them by the government and the violent beating of their representatives by police, a large group of desperate parents took to the streets, blocking the city’s main arteries. Although the protest was ultimately suppressed, it was the parents’ persistence that allowed more people to glimpse the bottomless black curtain of food safety in China through this incident.
9. Changsha Delivery Riders United Demonstration Against Discrimination
Time: December 22 – December 23, 2025 | Location: Changsha, Hunan
On December 22, 2025, the Heneng Puli residential compound in Changsha issued discriminatory entry regulations and verbally abused a rider during a conflict, ultimately detonating the collective anger of the delivery workforce. Hundreds of riders quickly assembled, blocking the compound’s gates for over ten hours demanding an apology from the involved homeowner. In the early hours of the next day, fearless of the hundreds of police officers on site, the riders staged a motorcycle demonstration through the urban area for several hours. During the procession, some riders even wore yellow robes and crowns as a symbolic gesture. The ending was dramatic: riders from major delivery platforms collectively “blacklisted” the compound, leaving all residents unable to order food, effectively executing a counter-measure against class discrimination.
8. Battle Between Street Vendors and Chengguan in Kunming
Time: September 27 – September 28, 2025 | Location: Guandu District, Kunming, Yunnan
In the midst of an economic winter, for the vendors at the Kunming Haile World Night Market, their small stalls were their families’ last rice bowls. However, the local government repeatedly tormented them within a wealth-extracting loop of “Rectification—Investment invitation—Fee collection.” The vendors were not only frequently harvested for fees but also faced violent eviction by Chengguan (Urban Management).
On the night of September 27, vendors pushed to the brink erupted. Facing hundreds of fully armed Chengguan and police officers, they fought back using whatever tableware, tables, and chairs were at hand. With “pots and pans flying everywhere,” the chaotic battle lasted for a full six hours. This was not just a conflict against arbitrary fees, but a desperate struggle by the underclass to defend their right to survival against predatory urban management in the backdrop of an economic depression.
7. Thousands of Farmers in Qiongzhong Siege “Hainan Rubber Group”
Time: October 31, 2025 | Location: Qiongzhong, Hainan
Facing the bullying behavior of the state-owned Hainan Rubber Group, which forcibly claimed land ownership and barbarically cut down thousands of betel nut trees planted by villagers, the residents of Nabai Village in Qiongzhong chose not to swallow the insult.
On October 31, 2025, over a thousand villagers launched a “Down with Hainan Rubber Group” campaign, besieging the farm and smashing multiple company sedans and facilities. This action triggered resonance across the island, with young people from various regions driving in to support them. Facing such a fierce backlash, the Hainan Rubber Group finally compromised, paying 588,600 RMB in compensation and 100,000 RMB in replanting funds. This was a rare case this year where citizens achieved a substantive victory through radical resistance, brutally proving that in the face of authoritarian power, weakness is only swallowed, and only resistance offers a sliver of hope.
6. Shenzhen Yilisheng 3,000-Worker Strike Against Disguised Layoffs
Time: December 4 – December 12, 2025 | Location: Shenzhen, Guangdong
After being acquired and shifting production capacity, the well-known electronics factory Yilisheng used a “five days, eight hours ultra-low wage” schedule as a “soft knife,” causing workers’ income to plummet to less than 2,000 RMB, in an attempt to force old employees to resign voluntarily to evade N+1 severance pay. The Labor Law, originally meant to protect workers, became a “legal” weapon for purging them when combined with ultra-low base pay by the management.
3,000 workers launched an 8-day general strike in response. During this period, the workers displayed a high degree of organization. On the night of December 10, 2025, a scene rarely seen in past labor disputes occurred: facing a large number of stability-maintenance police, hundreds of workers surrounded the factory gates to apply pressure, successfully forcing the police to release their arrested companions. Although they were eventually forced to return to work under the dual strangulation of capital and the state apparatus, the resilience and unity shown by these protesters—predominantly women—revealed the astonishing power of Chinese workers erupting in desperate circumstances.
5. Farmers’ Anti-Forced Cremation Movement in Yun-Gui Plateau
Time: November – December 2025 | Location: Zhenxiong (Yunnan), Xifeng (Guizhou), Zunyi, etc.
To generate revenue through funeral reform, local governments in Yunnan and Guizhou enforced a “one-size-fits-all” cremation policy, even committing evil acts such as secretly digging up corpses for forced cremation, which thoroughly ignited the anger of local farmers. In early November 2025, thousands of farmers in Zhongtun Town, Zhenxiong County, Yunnan, broke through roadblocks manned by government personnel and defied the burial ban, sparking a prairie fire of resistance. In Xifeng, Guizhou, angry farmers shouted the slogan “Dig up Xi Jinping’s ancestral grave first,” surrounded the county magistrate, and forced officials to kneel and beg for mercy, expressing a shocking contempt for authority. In Zheng’an, Zunyi, 2,000 farmers formed a “burial protection squad” and successfully repelled the government’s “body-snatching squad,” drawing a perfect conclusion to this large-scale peasant movement spanning two provinces and three cities, causing the forced cremation policy in these areas to collapse.
4. “Digital Moms” Help Ningbo’s “Little Luoxi” Fight Medical Black Curtain
Time: November – December 2025 | Location: Across China and the Internet
To meet surgery quota KPIs, a doctor at Ningbo Women and Children’s Hospital fabricated a medical condition, pushing 5-month-old baby girl “Little Luoxi” into an unnecessary, high-risk thoracic surgery, resulting in her tragic death on the operating table with her body nearly drained of blood. Afterward, her mother, Ms. Deng, was beaten while seeking justice and was stigmatized by an internet “water army” organized by the hospital.
This tragedy triggered a phenomenal online resistance. After the autopsy report was released, tens of millions of netizens transformed into “Digital Moms,” launching a public opinion war against public power censorship and smears. They stuck slogans on their cars and handbags, letting the story of Little Luoxi spread across China; they relayed posts online, letting the “Wind of Ningbo” blow across the world. They elevated what could have been a “harmonized” (censored) medical accident to the height of national accountability, ultimately forcing officials to stop feigning deafness.
3. Thousands of Students and Parents Smash School in Xuchang No. 6 Middle School
Time: May 23 – May 25, 2025 | Location: Xuchang, Henan
On May 23, 2025, Wu Yijia, a 13-year-old girl at Xuchang No. 6 Middle School, jumped from the 16th floor, unable to endure long-term insulting corporal punishment and isolation by her homeroom teacher. Facing the loss of a vibrant life, the school and the involved teacher not only refused to take responsibility but showed extreme indifference, even blaming her original family. This arrogance thoroughly detonated public anger.
On May 25, thousands of students, parents, and citizens surrounded the school. The young students displayed astonishing capacity for action; they spray-painted the shocking phrase “Blood Debt Paid in Blood” on school walls, scattered leaflets, threw debris, and smashed windows. The authorities immediately deployed SWAT teams and used pepper spray to violently clear the scene. Although Wu Yijia’s father was forced to “calm the situation” under high official pressure, the sentence from students online—”Baby, we got justice for you”—has become the best footnote for a young generation that fears no power and would rather break than bend.
2. Student Death in Pucheng Sparks Protest of Tens of Thousands
Time: January 2 – January 6, 2025 | Location: Pucheng County, Weinan, Shaanxi
On January 2, 2025, Dang Changxin, a student at the Pucheng Vocational Education Center, tragically fell to his death. The school quickly labeled it a “fall from height” (suicide/accident), confiscated phones, and put the family under house arrest, triggering strong public dissatisfaction. On the night of January 5, the conflict completely intensified after police beat and forcibly arrested the deceased’s uncle, escalating the event into a massive demonstration. On the 6th, tens of thousands of angry citizens took to the streets, breaking through the gates into the campus and smashing some school facilities. During the event, protesters bravely confronted large numbers of stability-maintenance police, engaging in fierce clashes, with several students suffering frantic beatings by police. This was the largest scale protest of 2025, raising the curtain on the year’s civil resistance.
1. Thousands in Jiangyou Demonstrate Against Bullying
Time: July 22 – August 4, 2025 | Location: Jiangyou, Sichuan
This was originally a vile case of bullying against a minor where three perpetrators used cruel methods, yet the police classified it as “minor injury” and treated it lightly, quickly sparking strong social resentment. On August 4, 2025, thousands of citizens took to the streets to seek justice for the victimized girl, only to face two rounds of violent suppression by large numbers of police. Facing the police, the protesting crowd did not retreat; instead, they shouted the slogan “Return our Democracy.” It marked that the public’s demands had risen from dissatisfaction with a single judicial case to reflection on and challenge to the entire political system, making it a landmark moment in China’s collective resistance in 2025.
Tribute to the Unsung Heroes
They are not born warriors; they are just ordinary people. But when they stood up for themselves and others, they demonstrated astonishing courage. The names of the vast majority of them will never be known; many are paying a painful price for this, perhaps currently enduring long imprisonment and loneliness. But it is these nameless people who, with their own freedom and blood and tears, smashed a crack in the Iron Curtain, letting in a faint but real light.
Documentary: “The Anti-Discrimination Protest by Food Delivery Riders in Changsha, Hunan”
From December 22 to 23, a protest broke out in Changsha, Hunan Province, triggered by a property owner verbally abusing a delivery rider. Hundreds of food delivery riders blockaded the entrance of a residential compound for more than ten hours and carried out prolonged demonstrations across the city.
Tens of Millions of “E-Mothers” Ignite a Tsunami of Public Opinion to Seek Justice for Ningbo’s “Little Luoxi” (2025.12.19–21)
On December 19, 2025, after 35 days of desperate appeals and online pleas, the parents of “Little Luoxi” in Ningbo finally received the decisive forensic report they had been waiting for. Yet the appraisal—issued by renowned forensic pathologist Liu Liang—not only failed to calm the controversy; it detonated like a deep-sea bomb, unleashing a rare storm of public opinion across China’s internet. Tens of millions of so-called “e-mothers” clashed fiercely online with organized “water army” accounts representing the interests of Ningbo University Affiliated Women and Children’s Hospital, battling over the final truth behind a lost young life.
Autopsy Truth: A Lethal Surgery That Was “Manufactured”
According to the autopsy report, the cause of death of the five-month-old infant was chilling: intraoperative pulmonary vein obstruction, severe pulmonary edema, damage to the cardiac conduction system, and hemorrhagic shock. What shocked public opinion most, however, was the truth about the alleged heart defect.
Before surgery, medical records and operative notes from the Ningbo women and children’s hospital repeatedly emphasized that Luoxi had a “7-mm sinus venosus atrial septal defect with unroofed coronary sinus syndrome.” This is a complex and rare congenital heart disease—and it was the core reason the lead surgeon, Chen Junxian, strongly urged the family to consent to surgery. He claimed it was “absolutely necessary” and a “basic procedure with a very high success rate.”
The autopsy results brutally shattered that narrative. During dissection, forensic experts found no trace of an “unroofed coronary sinus syndrome” or a “coronary sinus–type atrial septal defect.” Instead, they identified only a 3-mm secundum atrial septal defect. Under current medical consensus, such a small, simple defect is extremely common in infants and carries a very high likelihood of spontaneous closure. Mainstream clinical guidance typically recommends follow-up observation until preschool age, rather than high-risk open-heart surgery in a five-month-old infant.
Moreover, the autopsy revealed internal bleeding of approximately 70 milliliters. For a five-month-old baby, this exceeds half of the total blood volume—meaning the child essentially bled out on the operating table.
“This wasn’t a failed operation—this was murder,” Luoxi’s mother, Ms. Deng, sobbed upon seeing the report. “Chen Junxian, you have children of your own. How could you bear to torment a five-month-old baby for nine hours and let her bleed dry?”
Inside the Profession: Infants as “Guinea Pigs” for Profit?
Why would Chen Junxian operate on a child who was nearly healthy? As the autopsy report surfaced, multiple cardiac surgery specialists and senior physicians offered chilling speculation online.
Some insiders noted that, with China’s declining birth rate and the widespread adoption of prenatal screening, pediatric congenital heart surgery is approaching “patient source exhaustion.” Combined with the siphoning effect of top hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, hospitals in second-tier cities like Ningbo struggle to retain patients. Against this backdrop, Chen Junxian may have been under intense pressure to meet surgical-volume KPIs. Insiders speculate that, despite ambiguous ultrasound findings and recommendations for further CTA confirmation, he skipped additional diagnostic confirmation and rushed Luoxi onto the operating table to keep the case.
An even more disturbing hypothesis is that a fatal intraoperative error was the primary cause of death. A cardiac surgeon using the handle “Curry Chicken” analyzed that Chen may have misidentified the right lower pulmonary vein as the nonexistent “coronary sinus atrial defect” and sutured it, causing pulmonary vein obstruction and triggering severe pulmonary edema and heart failure. In an attempt to conceal the mistake or attempt a salvage, the operation—promised to last three hours—dragged on for more than seven hours, including a second thoracotomy, ultimately resulting in the child’s death.
Online disclosures appeared to corroborate these professional suspicions. One mother said she had a similar experience: in 2024, she took her child to Ningbo University Affiliated Women and Children’s Hospital and also saw Chen Junxian, who used the same rhetoric to persuade her to proceed with surgery. Fortunately, she later took her child to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, where doctors told her surgery was unnecessary.
“After opening the chest and finding there was no 7-mm hole—if you realized you couldn’t do it, wouldn’t stitching the child up still have spared her life?” countless netizens asked. But reality was unforgiving: errors on the operating table ultimately took Luoxi’s life. Further digging by online users suggested that Chen Junxian may have been linked to other similar fatal cases that were never properly addressed.
After the autopsy report was released, legal experts noted that if the evidence chain can establish subjective intent on the part of the physician, health authorities should immediately transfer the case to public security organs for criminal investigation under charges such as intentional injury or intentional homicide, rather than confining it to administrative medical accident review.
The Public Opinion War: Whitewashing and Character Assassination
Faced with conclusive autopsy findings and surging public outrage, Ningbo University Affiliated Women and Children’s Hospital and the surgeon involved did not choose to apologize. Instead, they launched a smear campaign against the victim’s family. After the autopsy report was published, the hospital briefly issued a statement attempting to redefine the defect size and justify the surgery, only to delete it within 20 minutes. Meanwhile, numerous influential accounts—including “White-Coated Lynx,” “Bean Mom Liu Fang,” and “Monk Bug Doctor”—posted coordinated, misleading content to “whitewash” the hospital’s actions. Some accounts even maliciously leaked Ms. Deng’s past miscarriage history and other private medical records, attempting to divert public attention through personal attacks.
This crossing of ethical red lines enraged the public. Large numbers of medical professionals, several celebrities, and massive numbers of netizens spoke out in rebuttal, engaging the paid commentators in fierce debate.
“We thought once the results came out, we’d made it ashore—turns out the water is even deeper,” one netizen wrote angrily.
“E-Mothers” Let the “Wind from Ningbo” Blow Across the World
If not for the parents’ resilience—and if not for the courageous community of “e-mothers”—this tragedy might long ago have been buried under the vague label of “surgical complications.”
From the family’s online plea on November 14, to public crying in the town square on the 17th, to today’s nationwide outpouring of support, tens of millions of “e-mothers” have become the backbone of this movement. Because they empathize more deeply, their stance has been more resolute than that of ordinary netizens.
In the early stages, heavy censorship and mass deletions caused public attention to cool. It was the “e-mothers” who launched the relay campaign known as “The Wind from Ningbo,” spreading Luoxi’s story across China and eventually around the world. Over the past month, the group has steadily grown. They have closely followed every move of Luoxi’s mother, publishing articles and videos across platforms, calling out in comment sections, and even paying out of pocket for promotions—all to counter omnipresent censorship.
Their actions extended offline as well. They launched campaigns to place slogans on cars and handbags, determined to carry Luoxi’s story to every corner of the city. They called government offices at all levels in Ningbo to lodge complaints, demanding justice. When related merchandise was taken down from e-commerce platforms, they even began printing and distributing slogans themselves.
As the “e-mothers” put it: “We don’t want to see another baby die in tears because of surgical errors. All we can do is keep bumping the posts and not let the heat fade.” And: “Even if unscrupulous people spread rumors and smears, you have tens of millions of e-parents behind you. You must hold on and see this through, until the wrongdoers are brought to justice.”
Their persistence ensured that the Luoxi case did not fade into silence like so many similar tragedies. Instead, one month later, it has evolved into a phenomenon-level public event, concentrating immense attention and anger.
Seeking Justice in a Rotten System
Despite the forensic conclusion, despite hundreds of millions of eyes watching and tens of millions of “e-mothers” standing in support, Luoxi’s parents still face a long road ahead—because they are confronting entrenched interest networks and a deeply decayed medical system.
One “e-mother” left a message that captured the shared sentiment of many: “The impact of the Luoxi case on me outweighs everything I learned from the sages in the first half of my life. It woke me up. Living in what looks like a prosperous age, I don’t think I’ll ever again be moved to tears by media paeans to ‘peace and prosperity.’”
「上海：《悲惨世界》演出结束后观众起立齐唱著名反抗歌曲“Do you hear the people sing“（2025.12.13）」12月13日，在上海大剧院上演的音乐剧《悲惨世界》40周年纪念版音乐会结束后，部分观众突然起立唱起了 “Do you hear the people sing” 这首歌曾在香港”雨伞革命”与“反送中运动”中被反复传唱，成为了争取民主自由的抗议之歌，是香港社会运动的重要象征。 （部分视频来自X：@azhongsb）
