“Students in Nanchong, Sichuan Launch ‘9.12 Uprising’ to Resist Weekend Make-up Classes and Excessive Fees” On September 12, students in the 11th grade at Dongchen International School in Nanbu County, Nanchong, Sichuan, staged a collective strike to protest the school’s policy of mandatory weekend make-up classes and high fees. Their action successfully forced the school to cancel the compulsory classes. The students dubbed the protest the “9.12 Anti-Dongchen Group Uprising.” However, in retaliation, the school later introduced a so-called “voluntary custody” program, requiring parents’ signatures and imposing even higher fees. Some students have said they may launch another protest after the holiday break.
Fuyang Maizhong Reformed Church ，Faces Long-Term Persecution for Refusing to Join the State-Sanctioned “Three-Self Church” Fuyang Maizhong Reformed Church，in Anhui Province, adhering to the house-church position and openly refusing to join the state-approved “Three-Self Church” (TSPM/CCC), has been under sustained pressure from the Chinese authorities since 2021. In August 2021, the local Religious Affairs Bureau served the church with a Notice of Administrative Ban, after which church equipment and property (including air-conditioners, a projector, tables, and chairs) were forcibly and unlawfully confiscated. During this period, Pastor Zhang Sen became a designated “stability maintenance” target, subjected to surveillance, tailing, and repeated police summons for interrogation. Since 2023, the crackdown has escalated dramatically, shifting into mass arrests of believers. Church gatherings—whether Sunday worship, Bible studies, or simple fellowship meals—have been raided multiple times by police and religious affairs officials, with members taken away and property seized without receipts or legal documentation. In autumn 2023, several co-workers were placed under administrative detention and fined for holding gatherings. In March 2024, 18 believers were detained, with preacher Chang Shun held for 15 days; later that same month, Pastor Zhang Sen was again detained merely for praying outside a detention center. In March 2025, for the first time, authorities imposed administrative punishment on two believers under the charge of “using a cult organization to endanger society,” marking a rare escalation against house churches since the implementation of the 2018 Regulations on Religious Affairs. On April 29, 2025, police from the Fuyang Modern Industrial Park stormed a believer’s home, taking away five adult Christians along with ten children as young as five or six. Two women were detained and subjected to verbal abuse and rough treatment in custody, while the children were left traumatized, with one suffering convulsions. Authorities still failed to issue official detention notices, concealing the duration of detention. When the church hired lawyers to file for administrative review, officials neither accepted the case nor issued formal rejection documents, effectively shutting off all legal avenues for redress. At present, Pastors Zhang Sen and Chang Shun, along with Elder Ma Tao, remain in criminal detention.
On the evening of September 12, hundreds of homeowners in Zhongheng Haihui City, Nanhai District, Foshan, Guangdong blocked traffic on Guidan Road to protest the property management’s decision to raise the monthly parking fee from 180 yuan to 400 yuan.
On September 12–13, after teachers at Shuderen Kindergarten in Guanghan City, Deyang, Sichuan went on strike over long-term arrears in wages and social security, parents gathered in front of the kindergarten for two consecutive days, demanding refunds from the kindergarten’s management.
From September 11 to 13, more than one hundred employees from the 18 branches of the Jin Haolai supermarket chain in Gongyi, Henan, staged a three-day protest at the city government and other locations, demanding payment of wages that had been in arrears for four months. Founded in 2003, Jin Haolai Supermarket declared bankruptcy on September 11, leaving not only unpaid wages for employees but also outstanding payments to suppliers and balances owed to membership card holders.
On September 11, in Deqing County, Huzhou, Zhejiang, two auxiliary police officers checked the tenant’s ID three times in the same rental apartment, which angered the tenant and eventually led to the officers being driven away.
On September 12, medical staff at Xindu District Central Hospital in Xingtai, Hebei, went on strike to protest against unpaid wages and social insurance. Reportedly, the hospital has only paid salaries up to November 2024 and has only contributed to social insurance up to January 2024. Public records show that Xindu District Central Hospital in Xingtai is a Grade II Class A public general hospital, formerly known as Xingtai County Central Hospital.
“Mass Food Poisoning Incidents in Guangdong and Shandong: Authorities Delete Posts, Shut Down Groups, Deploy Police, Prioritizing Stability”
In recent days, two schools in Lufeng, Guangdong, and Jining, Shandong, have consecutively reported mass student food poisoning incidents. Instead of fully treating the affected students, the schools and Chinese authorities focused their efforts on silencing information and preventing parents from seeking justice.
On September 12, a mass food poisoning outbreak occurred at Chaoyang (Yucai) School in Yanzhou District, Jining, Shandong. Hundreds of students suffered from vomiting, diarrhea, and even shock after consuming food provided by the school, and were rushed to hospitals for emergency treatment. The school’s first reaction was not to prioritize saving the students but to conceal the truth and stop parents from spreading the news. At the same time, poisoned students sent to hospitals were left in the corridors unattended. Meanwhile, the local government deleted related online information and deployed large numbers of police to hospitals, schools, and other locations to prevent parents from taking action.
A day earlier, on September 11, another mass food poisoning incident took place at Huamei Experimental School in Lufeng, Shanwei, Guangdong. Nearly one hundred elementary students suffered from vomiting and diarrhea after eating school-provided meals and were hospitalized for treatment. Anxious parents began discussing in WeChat groups how to appeal to the government, but the groups were forcibly disbanded.
Under the Chinese Communist Party’s logic of “stability above all else,” the lives and health of the people are consistently relegated to secondary importance—one of the main reasons why such incidents continue to occur repeatedly.
On September 10 and 11, in Bianyong Village, Zhenwen Town, Wuchuan City, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, villagers clashed for two consecutive days with government personnel who entered the village to seize land.
On September 12, in Renshou County, Meishan, Sichuan, hundreds of homeowners of Sunac Future City launched a protest, demanding that the developer terminate their contracts and refund their payments. However, they were suppressed by a large number of police officers, with many homeowners beaten, dragged, and arrested. The Renshou Sunac Future City (Legoland) project was originally scheduled for delivery by the end of 2023, but remains unfinished to this day, affecting 7,000 homeowners who have previously staged multiple protests.
