On October 31, in Qiongzhong Li and Miao Autonomous County, Hainan Province, over a thousand villagers launched a “Down with Hainan Rubber Group” protest, surrounding the Jiachai Farm of Hainan Rubber Group, smashing several cars and damaging parts of the farm’s facilities, and clashing violently with police at one point. The villagers’ plight resonated across Hainan, prompting young people from towns across Qiongzhong as well as from Danzhou, Baisha, and Wuzhishan to drive to Jiachai to support the protesting villagers. According to informed sources, on November 1, under mediation by the local government, the villagers received 588,600 yuan in compensation and 100,000 yuan for replanting.
“Kunming Street Vendors Clash with Urban Management Officers, Pots and Pans Flying (Sept. 27–28, 2025)” From Saturday night to early Sunday morning, a fierce confrontation lasting around six hours broke out at the Haile World Night Market on Yongzhong Road, Guandu District, Kunming, Yunnan Province, drawing large crowds of onlookers. The clashes involved night market vendors, city urban management officers (chengguan), and later, police. Eyewitnesses described the scene as chaotic, with “pots, pans, stools, and chairs flying everywhere.” The conflict ended with several vendors injured and hospitalized, multiple arrests, and food trucks—on which the vendors relied for their livelihood—being hauled away. The spark for the confrontation stemmed from a government order two weeks earlier, when local authorities shut down the night market under the pretext of “rectification” while simultaneously soliciting new businesses and collecting stall fees. Vendors said the Haile World Night Market’s popularity was built through years of persistence, often surviving on just tens of yuan a day. What enraged them was that just as business was picking up, chengguan abruptly shut down the market under the guise of rectification and then introduced new charges. When vendors showed up to register as required, they discovered over 400 stalls had already been registered—many not belonging to original vendors. They refused to pay the fees, pointing out they had already paid tens of thousands of yuan in various charges in the past, only to see the government frequently change rules and still send chengguan to drive them away. As a result, they no longer believed paying fees could guarantee protection. For many vendors, their stalls are the sole source of income for the entire family, and prolonged closure had left them desperate. On Sept. 27, upon hearing that the rectification had officially ended the day before, they returned to their original spots to resume business. Around 9 p.m., a large number of chengguan officers assembled at the night market, attempting to evict the vendors. The vendors refused to leave, and clashes quickly broke out. When some vendors were beaten by chengguan, tensions escalated sharply. Furious vendors hurled pots, pans, stools, and chairs at both the officers and the police who soon arrived. The scene descended into chaos, attracting hundreds of bystanders. One witness described it as “pots, pans, stools, and chairs flying everywhere.” The confrontation flared intermittently for about six hours, with waves of police reinforcements and repeated clashes, until around 3 a.m. the next day, when the chaos and standoff gradually subsided. According to witnesses, several vendors were injured and taken to hospital, many others were arrested, and their food trucks—essential to their livelihoods—were confiscated by chengguan.
A case of bullying involving a minor sparked massive protests in Jiangyou City, Sichuan Province, due to unjust handling by the police. Thousands of citizens stood up for the victimized girl, only to be violently suppressed by the police on two occasions. During the demonstrations, protesters chanted slogans demanding the return of democracy. (Special thanks to all contributors for their submissions.)
“Massive Ponzi Scheme Collapse: Over a Thousand Investors Besiege Linyi Shupai Headquarters, Clash with Police”
More than a thousand investors from across China gathered outside the headquarters of Shupai Yigou in Linyi, Shandong, on Monday and Tuesday, demanding the return of their investments. Some stormed the building, vandalized facilities, and clashed violently with police. Several individuals were detained.
Shupai Yigou is a consumer rebate platform that rose rapidly in recent years under the banner of the “digital economy.” It promoted a model of “earn money while spending” and “profit-sharing,” encouraging users to recharge funds to snap up products, and then recruit new participants to earn high rebates. The platform claimed annualized returns of up to 200% and touted backing from the government, asserting that the Luozhuang District government held a 34% stake and was overseeing operations. These “guarantees” helped the company expand swiftly into multiple cities across China, claiming thousands of “digital storefronts” and tens of thousands of merchants, with widespread presence in community promotions, TV shopping, and social media marketing. Many users took out loans or mortgaged property to participate.
However, since July, users have reported that withdrawals were frozen and recharge balances became unrecoverable. The promised “T+5” withdrawal period proved meaningless, with clear signs of a broken capital chain.
On July 21, Shupai Yigou issued a notice stating it was under investigation for suspected pyramid selling. The announcement warned that if illegal activity was confirmed, both service providers and users involved in operations could face criminal charges. Simultaneously, the company unveiled a so-called “transformation plan,” including a partnership with the Qingdao Cultural Property Exchange to launch a new “Wenqitong” platform in a bid to construct a “new digital ecosystem.”
Instead of easing tensions, the announcement was widely interpreted as an attempt to “escape liability.” That same day, a large number of investors forced their way into Shupai’s Luozhuang District headquarters, detaining a company executive and demanding repayment—without success.
On the morning of July 22, the situation escalated further. More investors arrived by car from other provinces, swelling the crowd at the headquarters to over a thousand. Local authorities deployed a large number of police officers to disperse the protesters. Violent clashes broke out as police forcibly entered the building, with demonstrators throwing water bottles and other debris, breaking windows and damaging property. Police responded with pepper spray and made multiple arrests.
That afternoon, some protesters relocated to block a road in front of the headquarters, causing major traffic disruptions. Police intervened again and forcibly dispersed the crowd, detaining several more people in the process.
In addition to the headquarters protest, some investors went to the Linyi municipal and Shandong provincial government offices seeking redress. As of the evening of July 22, many investors remained near the Shupai headquarters, with tensions still running high and the incident continuing to unfold.
【Follow-up on Gansu Tianshui Kindergarten Lead Poisoning Incident: Parents Block Roads in Protest, Police Beat and Detain Protesters】
On the evening of July 20, parents of children from Hexi Peixin Kindergarten in Maiji District, Tianshui City, Gansu Province, launched a protest, blocking Chengji Avenue East to oppose the police’s beating and detention of fellow protesting parents. Earlier that day, two parents were beaten and taken away by police after protesting against the government’s alleged tampering with test results and coercing parents into signing agreements, sparking widespread outrage among families.
On the same day, Gansu authorities released an official report on the lead poisoning incident. The report stated that in order to make the food more visually appealing, the kindergarten’s principal Zhu Moulin and investor Li Moufang instructed kitchen staff to illegally add inedible toxic pigments to children’s meals over a long period, resulting in severe lead poisoning among both children and staff, with dangerously high levels of lead detected in the food. So far, six individuals have been arrested and 17 others placed under investigation.
