A patient death incident has recently occurred at Fenghe Psychiatric Hospital in Xingren City, Qianxinan Prefecture, Guizhou Province. According to the deceased’s family, the patient was admitted for treatment on March 12, and the hospital notified the family of the patient’s death on March 20. During the patient’s hospitalization, the hospital refused to allow family visits. On March 21 and 22, family members went to the hospital on two consecutive days demanding an explanation from the hospital, but received no response — and were instead asked by police to give statements.
On February 24, in Biaoxing Village, Zhexiang Township, Wangmo County, Qianxinan, Guizhou, officers entered the village to detain residents who were protesting the village committee’s unauthorized leasing of a collectively owned school. Their actions sparked public anger, and they were surrounded by villagers.
“Anti–Forced Cremation Movement Continues to Spread Across Yunnan–Guizhou:2,000 Farmers in Zunyi Block Government Body-Seizure Team (Dec. 3, 2025)”
The wave of rural resistance against forced cremation that has been spreading across the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau erupted at a new flashpoint this week. On Wednesday (December 3), in Sangba Village of Hexi Town, Zheng’an County, Zunyi City, Guizhou Province, a traditional burial ceremony escalated into a large-scale confrontation. Around 2,000 villagers rushed to the scene, forming a massive funeral defense line to block government personnel attempting to seize the body for cremation. The villagers ultimately succeeded in ensuring the deceased was buried according to local customs.
Years of resentment, and a “model effect” that ignited anger
According to local sources, Zheng’an County has enforced forced cremation with a heavy hand for many years. For farmers in the region, the policy not only violates the deeply held belief in “returning to the earth,” but also imposes added financial burdens. Although villagers have long harbored discontent, they have felt compelled to endure it due to the strength of administrative enforcement.
But this situation shifted toward the end of this year. Since early November, multiple rural areas in Zhenxiong County in Yunnan Province and Xifeng County in Guiyang, Guizhou, have erupted in large-scale and intense resistance movements against forced cremation. These protests have produced striking scenes in which angry villagers cornered county officials, and government personnel were forced to kneel while wearing mourning cloths—events that widely inspired others across the region.
News of these confrontations quickly reached Zheng’an County and significantly boosted local morale. Reports that, in late November, officials in Zhenxiong and Xifeng backed down during several large-scale funeral defense actions convinced Zheng’an villagers that a policy once seen as unshakeable was not, in fact, invincible.
Two thousand villagers gather and secure a successful burial
After a resident of Sangba Village passed away recently, the family decided to defy the ban and hold a traditional burial on December 3. Word spread quickly, and farmers from surrounding villages rushed to support them. Witnesses estimated that roughly 2,000 people gathered at the scene.
As usual, local authorities dispatched staff members and funeral vehicles, intending to seize the body for cremation. But they had clearly underestimated both the size of the crowd and the villagers’ determination.
Before the burial procession began, tensions were already extremely high. One organizer shouted to the gathered crowd, “If they dare to seize the body, you follow me and we’ll stop them!” The declaration significantly strengthened the villagers’ resolve.
Conflict broke out shortly afterward. Outnumbered by thousands of agitated villagers, the government’s “body seizure team” quickly lost control. After brief pushing and confrontation, officials were forced to abandon their attempt and withdraw. The villagers then escorted the coffin to the burial site, completing the ceremony without further interference.
A spreading wave of resistance: the forced cremation system begins to crumble
The successful defense in Zheng’an County spread rapidly across local social networks, generating strong reactions in neighboring regions. Residents from nearby counties left messages expressing support, and some even drove to the village to observe the event and “learn from the experience.” A succession of victories has given farmers in other areas still under strict cremation enforcement renewed hope for change. Some online users reported that residents in neighboring Daozhen County and Suiyang County are already planning similar actions.
From the 2024 incidents in Guizhou’s Jinsha, Anlong, and Pingtang counties, to the more recent confrontations in Xifeng, Zheng’an, and Zhenxiong in Yunnan, the anti–forced cremation movement across the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau has grown into a prairie fire. A policy enforced in parts of the region for more than two decades now appears increasingly unstable. These successive victories have generated a powerful demonstration effect, and many believe more rural communities will rise up in the coming weeks and months.
“Guizhou’s Anti-Forced Cremation Movement Escalates: Township Head Captured After Trying to Seize a Body, Forced to Wear Mourning Cloth and Kneel (2025.11.28)”
On Friday, in Xifeng County of Guiyang, Guizhou, the month-long anti-forced cremation movement once again erupted into violent confrontation. Three government officials — including the township head — were seized on the spot by enraged villagers after attempting to forcibly take a deceased person’s body and assaulting family members. To avoid being beaten, the three were ultimately made to wear white mourning cloths and kneel before the coffin.
According to villagers, on the morning of November 28, in Shanshuping, Lianhe Village of Xishan Town, family members and villagers were carrying a coffin to the burial site when they were blocked by several government officials and funeral-home workers. The officials demanded that the family hand over the body and transport it to the funeral home for cremation. Villagers, however, said the family possessed legal approval for a traditional burial and had violated no regulations.
A physical clash broke out during the dispute, injuring one family member. Furious, villagers detained several government personnel — including the township head and the Party branch secretary — and smashed the windows of their vehicle. The incident quickly spread through the community, and villagers from surrounding areas rapidly gathered, swelling the crowd to several hundred people.
Videos taken by villagers show three men — including the township head — being brought before the coffin. They were forced to kneel as “mourning sons,” and white mourning cloths were tied to their heads according to local customs. Ironically, despite their usual authority, the officials complied obediently amid villagers’ scolding and ridicule. Other officials, however, managed to flee during the chaos. Ultimately, the detained officials were allowed to leave only after promising not to block the villagers again. All accompanying vehicles remained in villagers’ custody.
According to locals at the scene, on the morning of the 29th, after the government promised to cover the injured person’s medical expenses, the deceased was buried. Video from that afternoon shows villagers pushing one of the seized Hongqi sedans off the roadside.
Since early this month, farmers in Xifeng, Guizhou, and Zhenxiong, Yunnan, have repeatedly launched large-scale protests against mandatory cremation policies imposed by local governments. Multiple clashes have occurred between villagers and authorities. In Xifeng, even a deputy county head was once surrounded by villagers. In Mushan Village of Shidong Town, thousands of villagers have been taking turns guarding the cemetery for over twenty days to prevent officials from “stealing bodies,” and the watch continues.
“Anti–Forced Cremation Movement on the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau and the Current Landscape of Collective Resistance (Nov. 25, 2025)”
On the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau in southwest China, a farmer-led “anti–forced cremation movement” has been ongoing for nearly a month, and is showing signs of further escalation. On November 25, thousands of villagers gathered separately in Zhenxiong County of Zhaotong, Yunnan, and Xifeng County of Guiyang, Guizhou, to openly protest local authorities’ push for mandatory cremation policies.
In Qingshan Village of Zhongtun Town, Zhenxiong County, Yunnan, more than a thousand villagers clashed with authorities earlier this month as they forced their way through official blockades to bury a deceased villager according to traditional customs. On Tuesday, over a thousand villagers assembled again to hold another burial ceremony for an elderly resident. Unlike the incident earlier this month, local officials did not even attempt to intervene. Villagers marched while chanting “We firmly oppose cremation” and completed the ceremony without obstruction.
In Mushan Village of Shidong Town, Xifeng County, Guizhou, villagers have been guarding the cemetery around the clock for 14 consecutive days to prevent the government from entering the village to “seize bodies” for forced cremation. As videos of the standoff circulated online, the action drew widespread attention. Villagers from all 18 villages in Shidong Town, as well as residents from nearby towns and even neighboring counties and cities, flocked to the site in support. On Tuesday, the crowd at one point reached roughly 2,000 people. By that evening, over a thousand villagers were still holding their ground—making it one of the rare large-scale collective actions in recent years capable of sustaining itself for more than ten days. Just days earlier, in Shuitou Village only a few kilometers away, villagers even surrounded Xifeng County’s deputy magistrate, Qiang Yong, demanding that he return a deceased villager’s body, ultimately forcing officials to retreat.
In recent years, the limited number of collective actions that still manage to reach significant scale have been concentrated mainly in small and medium-sized cities as well as rural areas. Large protests in Pucheng, Ningling, and Jiangyou occurred in county seats or county-level cities; while incidents such as Yang Dazhao, Zhang Baoshan, Anlong, Qiongzhong—and now the anti-cremation movement on the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau—have all erupted in rural regions. This spatial distribution is closely related to the social environment shaped after the “White Paper Movement.” In major cities, the CCP increasingly relies on extensive data-driven surveillance systems, strengthened social control, and expanding stability-maintenance budgets, making large-scale collective actions almost impossible. In contrast, rural areas—with vast territories and dispersed populations—are far more difficult for the state to monitor and police with equal intensity, thus becoming hotspots for collective resistance. Moreover, compared to urban residents who are deeply embedded in institutional structures, farmers face fewer systemic constraints and often show stronger resolve when core interests are infringed upon. Rural communities also retain certain clan-based networks, giving them stronger internal organization and mobilization capacity. Additionally, with the spread of smartphones and private vehicles, rural society has become far more interconnected, accelerating cross-regional information flow—something increasingly visible in major collective actions in recent years.
As China’s economic downturn continues, large numbers of migrant workers are expected to return to their home villages. They will bring back not only unemployment pressures and livelihood anxieties, but also broader perspectives and heightened rights-awareness. As a result, collective protests in rural regions and smaller cities are expected to remain frequent in the coming years. The CCP’s recent slogan calling to “prevent large-scale return migration” is itself a reflection of the authorities’ growing anxiety over this risk.
“Guizhou Farmers Surround County Official in Protest Against Mandatory Cremation: Villagers Lash Out, Saying ‘Dig Up Xi Jinping’s Ancestral Tomb First’ (Nov. 22, 2025)”
On Saturday (November 22), two separate protests broke out in Shidong Town, Xifeng County, Guiyang, Guizhou Province. Villagers resisting the local government’s mandatory cremation policy confronted officials, and at one point surrounded a deputy county chief.
Mandatory cremation policy provokes widespread discontent; villagers tell officials to “dig up Xi Jinping’s ancestral tomb first”
The protests stemmed from Xifeng County’s recent implementation of a mandatory cremation policy requiring all residents to be cremated after death. The policy has triggered broad public dissatisfaction. Villagers noted that many neighboring cities and counties, due to public opposition, had already shifted from mandatory to voluntary cremation, yet Xifeng County continued to push ahead and failed to provide any legal grounds for the requirement.
They argued that the local government was enforcing cremation for financial gain, in a way that not only contradicts the traditional custom of burial for “resting in the earth,” but also increases the financial burden on rural households. Many villagers said that after paying for cremation and purchasing urns, they still had to buy coffins for burial because rural areas have no designated facilities to store urns.
When government staff entered the villages to promote the policy and solicit signatures, villagers angrily confronted them, saying: “If the Communist Party wants to dig up ancestors’ graves, then start by digging up Xi Jinping’s ancestral tomb! Do you dare?” They also warned that if authorities attempted to forcibly exhume bodies already buried, “Go ahead and try—let’s see whether ordinary people will let you walk away.”
Mushan Village: Hundreds gather to stop officials from exhuming a body
During the day on Saturday in Mushan Village, hundreds of villagers gathered after hearing that government personnel intended to remove the body of a recently buried resident. Villagers stood guard around the gravesite holding wooden sticks, saying they would “resist to the death” if the authorities attempted a forced exhumation. Loudspeakers were used on site to broadcast their demands for the mandatory cremation policy to be withdrawn. Villagers continued guarding the area late into the night. Officials—who earlier had threatened to “seize the body”—did not act because they were outnumbered.
Shuitou Village: Deputy county chief allegedly assaults deceased’s sister and is surrounded
On Saturday night, a more intense confrontation occurred in Shuitou Village, only a few kilometers away. According to villagers, Xifeng County Deputy Chief Qiang Yong struck the sister of a deceased resident while demanding that the family hand over the body, which sparked anger.
Villagers quickly gathered—growing from dozens to hundreds—surrounding the deputy county chief along with accompanying officials and police. A physical clash followed. Video from the scene shows Qiang Yong promising to cover all medical expenses for the injured woman. The standoff lasted until the early hours of the next morning, during which Qiang eventually escaped amid the commotion.
Both incidents continue to escalate, and many netizens from nearby areas have expressed intentions to travel to the scene to support the villagers.
“Hundreds of High School Students in Longli, Guizhou Rally Against ‘Prison-Style’ Management (2025.11.17)”
Hundreds of students at Longli No.1 High School in Guizhou launched a collective action this Monday, gathering in front of their dormitory building and chanting slogans to protest the “prison-style” schedule the school began enforcing that day.
The incident stemmed from a new timetable the school released on November 11. According to the plan, students must complete 13 class periods each day, plus morning reading. To fit in such an intense workload, the school requires students to wake up at 6 a.m. and go to bed at 11:10 p.m. This means students get less than seven hours of sleep per night— even with a one-hour lunch break added, it still falls short of the eight hours recommended by China’s National Health Commission for high school students. What angered students further was that the new rules require them to take their lunch break in the classroom and forbid returning to the dorms. Many said that sleeping face-down on a desk cannot provide any real rest. Such high-intensity scheduling and reduced sleep, they argue, will inevitably damage their physical and mental health.
After the timetable was published, students quickly voiced strong dissatisfaction on social media, sparking widespread resonance. Among the posts, an article titled “Youth Kidnapped by Time” spread widely among students. It sharply criticized this distorted education model and asked: “Is this a school meant to nurture talent, or a factory assembly line?” The article said this approach not only harms students’ health—leading to “rising myopia rates, sleep deprivation, and younger psychological issues”—but also destroys their motivation to learn, making “academic burnout” a heavy label on their youth. Some even said, “It’s worse than a prison—just pure exploitation.” These voices laid the groundwork for the eventual collective action.
On November 17, the day the new schedule took effect, hundreds of students gathered in front of the dormitory, chanting “Open the door!” to express their discontent with the school’s prison-like management and to demand access to their rooms. According to students on site, several teachers tried to stop them but failed. In the end, under the pressure of united student action, the school administration made a temporary concession: students were allowed to return to their dorms for lunch break that day, and the school announced that future lunch breaks would also be taken in the dorms.
However, as of November 18, the school has not decided whether it will revise the timetable or reduce study hours. Students say they are still negotiating with the school and hope for a positive outcome.
「贵州、山西、河南四煤矿工人罢工讨薪（2025.11.01-12）」11月上半月，「昨天」频道共记录到四起煤矿工人罢工事件，引发原因均为欠薪，其中贵州六盘水攀枝花煤矿已经拖欠工资长达一年。这四起煤矿工人讨薪事件分别是：11月1日，贵州省遵义市桐梓县大河煤矿工人罢工讨薪。11月11日，山西省晋中市榆次区坤源煤矿工人罢工讨薪。11月12日，贵州省六盘水市水城区攀枝花煤矿工人罢工讨薪。11月12日，河南省洛阳市新义煤矿工人罢工讨薪。 “Coal Miners Strike for Unpaid Wages in Guizhou, Shanxi, and Henan” In the first half of November, the “Yesterday” channel recorded four coal miner strike incidents, all triggered by unpaid wages. Among them, the Panzhihua Coal Mine in Liupanshui, Guizhou, has reportedly withheld wages for as long as one year. The four wage-protest strikes were as follows: — On November 1, workers at Dahe Coal Mine in Tongzi County, Zunyi City, Guizhou Province went on strike. — On November 11, workers at Kunyuan Coal Mine in Yuci District, Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province staged a strike. — On November 12, workers at Panzhihua Coal Mine in Shuicheng District, Liupanshui City, Guizhou Province went on strike. — Also on November 12, workers at Xinyi Coal Mine in Luoyang City, Henan Province launched a strike.
“Newborn Baby in Zunyi Dies After Suspected Nurse Negligence; Family Faces Obstacles in Seeking Justice (Oct 22, 2025)”
On October 22, 2025, a tragic medical incident occurred at the Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University. A newborn baby, only six days old, allegedly died of suffocation after a nurse neglected her duty while feeding him. In the days following the incident, the heartbroken family stayed at the hospital demanding answers. The baby’s mother reportedly suffered repeated emotional breakdowns and attempted to jump from the building in despair.
Incident Details: Nurse Left the Baby Unattended to Use Her Phone After Feeding
According to the family, the baby’s prenatal and delivery indicators were all normal. Doctors rated his health as a “perfect 10,” and he was considered fully healthy. He was only admitted for treatment because of slightly elevated jaundice levels (around 22).
The tragedy took place in the early hours of October 22. Surveillance footage shows that at around 2 a.m., a male nurse on duty fed the baby by placing a milk bottle in his mouth and then walked away to use his phone. He didn’t remove the bottle until seven minutes later.
Between 2:30 a.m. and 5:17 a.m.—nearly three hours—the baby was visibly crying and restless, but the nurse remained on his phone and did not check on him even once. The family had paid an additional 1,000 yuan for “special care,” which, according to hospital policy, required nurses to check on infants every 15 minutes.
At 5:17 a.m., when changing the baby’s diaper, the nurse finally noticed that the child had no heartbeat. Resuscitation began only afterward. At 5:55 a.m., the doctor called the family, saying the baby’s “condition had changed.” When the parents arrived at 6 a.m., the child had already been pronounced dead.
The family strongly suspects that the baby choked on milk and suffered severe asphyxiation. They believe that the nurse’s negligence and delayed response directly caused the death. They also noted that the heart monitor, which should have issued an alert during distress, remained silent—possibly because it had not been properly connected in the first place.
Hospital Response: Evasion, Tampered Records, and Cold Remarks
The hospital’s handling of the aftermath only deepened tensions. For several hours after the incident, no hospital official came forward to explain or take responsibility. The family’s repeated attempts to seek answers were met with evasions and indifference.
The hospital claimed the cause of death was “pulmonary hemorrhage leading to suffocation.” However, the family discovered that the sealed medical records contained pages from another baby’s critical care file, and one document requiring the father’s signature was dated before the family had even seen it.
When questioned about the nursing process, the nurse involved stayed silent—without even offering an apology. A staff member from the hospital’s medical department reportedly told the family coldly, “It’s your baby who died, not mine.” Another doctor added, “What’s done is done. What can you do now?”
It wasn’t until 4:30 p.m. that the hospital’s discipline inspection secretary appeared, promising to handle the matter “lawfully and fairly.”
Family’s Struggle for Justice
Since the baby’s death, the grieving family’s attempts to seek accountability have faced continuous obstruction. Police repeatedly forced them out of the hospital, and posts about the incident were quickly restricted or removed online. Paid online commenters also accused the family of being “troublemakers.”
When the family tried to film the surveillance footage to preserve evidence, police stopped them, citing “privacy concerns for other infants.” The hospital’s internal discipline committee has since opened an investigation, but according to the family, they were told that “an investigation will be conducted, but the results won’t be made public.”
The baby’s relatives stated that their only goal is transparency and accountability. As the baby’s uncle wrote in a statement:
“We just want the truth and for those responsible to be held accountable. To be honest, your attempts to whitewash this are dirtier than a toilet cleaner.”
On the evening of October 22, in Baiyun District, Guiyang City, Guizhou Province, street vendors confronted urban management officers (chengguan) on the street. The vendors said each stall’s daily revenue is often less than 80 yuan, while stall fees run as high as 100 to 200 yuan. If they pay the fees required by the government to operate “legally,” they would operate at a loss; but if they don’t pay, they are immediately driven off by the chengguan for “occupying public space” and even risk having their food carts confiscated.
During the standoff, one vendor, visibly emotional, said he has four children and two elderly dependents to support and more than 200,000 yuan in loans to repay, adding, “If you’re going to force me to steal, then give me a written certificate.”
