The situation is a bit complicated｜A healthy society needs Liu Hu

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Years ago, Liu Hu was threatened with death for his reports:

“You don’t know how you’ll disappear!”

A healthy society needs Liu Hu!

Not only because he can help us expose some corrupt officials, but also because his existence as a “different voice” proves that this society still has the possibility of correcting itself. If the pain is completely eliminated, if even the last woodpecker disappears, then the remaining tranquility will be the most dangerous silence before the collapse of the jungle.

Liu Hu (born September 7, 1975), a native of Jiangbei County, Sichuan Province (now Liangjiang New Area, Chongqing), is a well-known investigative journalist and self-media person in China. He is well-known in the journalism industry for his long-term commitment to anti-corruption investigations and the promotion of the redress of unjust and wrong cases. He has worked for media such as Chengdu Business Daily, Modern Express and Xin Kuai Daily.

Liu Hu has been criminally charged multiple times for reporting or reporting officials. The most famous cases include being detained for one year after reporting the former deputy director of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, Ma Zhengqi, in 2013 (later receiving a decision not to prosecute), and being arrested again in early 2026 for reporting Pu Fayou, the secretary of the CPC Pujiang County Committee in Sichuan Province.

Biography and Career

Early Experience

Liu Hu was born on September 7, 1975, and his ancestral home is Jiangbei County, Sichuan Province (now within the scope of Yubei District/Liangjiang New Area, Chongqing). In the heyday of Chinese urban newspapers in the early 21st century, he was active in Chengdu Business Daily and Modern Express, focusing on in-depth reports and investigations of individual judicial cases.

Institutional Media Period

During his tenure as a reporter in the in-depth investigation department of Xin Kuai Daily, Liu Hu was good at digging out clues of collusion between officials and businessmen and the loss of state-owned assets. His reporting principles are characterized by real-name reporting and emphasis on evidence chains, and he has become one of the representative figures of the active “reporter reporting” phenomenon in the Weibo era.

Independent Journalist and Self-Media Period

After being released in 2015, due to professional bans and other reasons, Liu Hu became an independent investigative journalist. He operates self-media platforms such as “Law and Emotion” and continues to pay attention to the issue of judicial justice. He has promoted major events such as the case of Zhang Jiahui, the former deputy president of the Hainan Provincial High Court, the Gansu Baiyin Serial Murder Case, and the redress of the case of Zeng Jianbin’s involvement in organized crime in Mianyang, Sichuan.

Core Legal Events

2013 Ma Zhengqi Case and One Year of Detention

On July 29, 2013, Liu Hu reported Ma Zhengqi, then deputy director of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, on Weibo, accusing him of dereliction of duty in the reform of state-owned enterprises during his tenure in Chongqing, resulting in the loss of tens of millions of state-owned assets.

• Arrest and Charges On August 23 of the same year, Liu Hu was taken away from his home in Chongqing by Beijing police in a cross-provincial operation. He was initially detained on suspicion of “rumor-mongering” and later formally arrested on suspicion of “defamation.” When the case was transferred for review and prosecution, the charges were increased to defamation, extortion and provocation.
• Judicial Results Liu Hu was detained for 346 days and was released on bail on August 3, 2014. On September 10, 2015, the Dongcheng District Procuratorate of Beijing Municipality issued a “Decision Not to Prosecute,” stating that Liu Hu’s actions did not meet the conditions for prosecution and that the evidence was insufficient. This case was included in the “Top Ten Media Law Cases in China in 2015”.

Social Credit System Sanctions

Although the criminal case was not prosecuted, Liu Hu lost the civil lawsuit for the right of reputation involving officials. Because he refused to pay compensation (Liu Hu believed that the judgment was a disguised punishment for speech), he was included in the “List of Dishonest Persons Subject to Enforcement” by the court, and was long prohibited from purchasing high-speed rail tickets and air tickets, and was frequently blocked on social media platforms.

2026 Pujiang County Incident and Re-arrest

On January 29, 2026, Liu Hu and writer Wu Yingjiao published an investigative article online, “The Sichuan County Party Secretary Who Forced the Professor to Death, Now Forces the Investment Enterprise to Bankruptcy,” which directly pointed to Pu Fayou, the secretary of the CPC Pujiang County Committee in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.

• Investigation On the evening of February 2, 2026, the Jinjiang Branch of the Chengdu Municipal Public Security Bureau issued a notice stating that, according to the designated jurisdiction, it had filed a case for investigation against Liu (50 years old) and Wu (34 years old) on suspicion of “false accusation and framing” and “illegal business operations,” and had taken criminal compulsory measures.
• Social Response This case has caused a shock in public opinion, and everyone is calling for attention to Liu Hu’s legitimate rights and the space for news supervision.