Due to dissatisfaction with the county government’s housing demolition compensation decision, Zhang Kuixiang, a 55-year-old from Dongming County, Heze City, Shandong Province, and her family were twice sued in court but were dismissed. Afterwards, their house was forcibly demolished.
The People’s Procuratorate of Dongming County believes that, under the circumstances where Zhang Kuixiang’s case has been legally concluded, she still engages in persistent visits, disturbances, and online complaints based on the same facts and reasons. Her actions of creating disturbances in public places, causing serious disorder in public order, should be held criminally liable for the crime of provoking trouble.
On April 7, “Fadu Law” learned from Zhang Kuixiang’s family that on March 31, the case was heard in the People’s Court of Dongming County, but no verdict was announced.
It is worth mentioning that the fifth crime alleged by the procuratorate is: Zhang Kuixiang, from May to December 2021, filed complaints online with the National Bureau of Letters and Calls seven times.
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Zhang Kuixiang only has a primary school education and is a farmer in Dongming County, Shandong Province.
In 2018, the Dongming County People’s Government carried out the renovation of the shantytowns in the urban area’s broadcasting bureau area and made a housing demolition compensation decision for Zhang Kuixiang’s house located in that area.
Zhang Kuixiang’s family was dissatisfied with the decision and sued the Intermediate People’s Court of Heze City, requesting it to be revoked, but the court ruled to dismiss the case. In 2019, they appealed to the Shandong Provincial High People’s Court, which also ruled to dismiss the appeal and uphold the original judgment.
On May 14, 2021, the Dongming County People’s Government forcibly demolished Zhang Kuixiang’s house in accordance with the law. The indictment stated that after that, Zhang Kuixiang, under the circumstances where the case had been legally concluded, still engaged in persistent visits, disturbances, and online complaints based on the same facts and reasons.
The indictment alleged five specific acts:
1. On May 18, 2021, Zhang Kuixiang went to the National Bureau of Letters and Calls in Beijing to engage in persistent visits and disturbances. She was persuaded and taken back by the staff of the Chengguan Street Office of Dongming County and was administratively detained for ten days by the Dongming County Public Security Bureau.
2. On December 31, 2021, Zhang Kuixiang went to the Letters and Calls Bureau of Heze City, Shandong Province, to engage in persistent visits and disturbances.
3. On April 19 of the following year, Zhang Kuixiang went to the Shandong Provincial People’s Government to engage in persistent visits and disturbances. She knelt down at the south gate of the government, causing onlookers, in order to create an impact. She was discovered and taken away from the scene by local on-duty police officers.
4. On September 11 of that year, Zhang Kuixiang went to Beijing under the guise of going out to work, attempting to engage in persistent visits and disturbances. On September 18, she was taken back by the staff of the Chengguan Street Office and the Nanguan Neighborhood Committee of Dongming County.
5. Zhang Kuixiang, from May to December 2021, filed complaints online with the National Bureau of Letters and Calls seven times.
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A search revealed that cases where online complaints to relevant departments were deemed illegal are extremely rare.
On October 21, 2021, the official new media of the Changle County Political and Legal Committee published a case showing that since September 2019, Sun Moubo from Changle County, Weifang City, Shandong Province, knowing that the letters and calls he reflected should be resolved through legal channels, still frequently appealed by sending letters to national leaders and central authorities, sending letters and appeals more than 80 times in 2021.
The case stated that on September 29, 2021, the Yingqiu Police Station of the county’s Public Security Bureau gave Sun Moubo a warning and clearly informed him that he should resolve his appeals through legal channels. On October 10, 2021, Sun Moubo still refused to heed the advice and continued to appeal to the National Bureau of Letters and Calls through online channels, and in the letter, he wantonly smeared and slandered the staff of national organs. On October 15, Sun Moubo was given an administrative detention of ten days for allegedly provoking trouble.
On May 18, 2021, Zhang Kuixiang was administratively detained for ten days for persistent visits and disturbances. Later, on October 5, 2022, she was placed under residential surveillance by the Dongming County Public Security Bureau for allegedly provoking trouble, and on October 26 of the same month, she was approved for arrest.
The indictment, dated January 12, 2023, shows that the People’s Procuratorate of Dongming County believes that Zhang Kuixiang created disturbances in public places, causing serious disorder in public order. Her actions violated the provisions of Article 293, paragraph 1, item (4) of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China and should be held criminally liable for the crime of provoking trouble.
Zhang Kuixiang’s defense lawyer believes that the public prosecution agency’s accusation of the defendant’s above-mentioned five criminal facts did not cause serious disorder in public order, and should not be handled as a crime according to law.
Regarding the fifth fact in the indictment, Zhang Kuixiang’s defense lawyer pointed out that Article 17 of the Regulations on Letters and Calls stipulates that citizens, legal persons, or other organizations can use information networks, letters, telephone, fax, visits, and other forms to reflect situations to all levels of organs and units, and to make suggestions, opinions, or complaints. The relevant organs and units should handle them in accordance with regulations and laws.
The defense lawyer also believes that the Regulations on Letters and Calls encourage petitioners to submit letters and calls in written form, and even encourage online letters and calls. Online letters and calls are the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, and the law does not prohibit the number of online letters and calls. Online letters and calls cannot cause serious disorder in public order.
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In this regard, Wang Cailiang, a lawyer and director of Beijing Cailiang Law Firm, who is also a part-time professor at the School of Law of Beihang University and the Lawyer College of Renmin University of China, told “Fadu Law” that there are obvious problems in this case. The person involved is dissatisfied with the local government and submits letters and calls to the letters and calls website instead of going to Beijing to appeal. This situation should be protected by law.
Wang Cailiang said that even if the behavior of the person involved has a certain degree of social harm, the principle of proportionality between crime and punishment should also be considered, and the use of criminal punishment should be cautious, that is, it is necessary to consider the lesser of two evils, and it is not appropriate to pursue criminal liability and intensify the conflict.
Lan Tianbin, a senior partner at Jiangsu Fade Dongheng Law Firm, told “Fadu Law” that Zhang Kuixiang, from May to December 2021, filed complaints online with the National Bureau of Letters and Calls seven times. The procuratorate determined that this online complaint was also one of the facts of the crime of provoking trouble, and this determination is highly controversial.
Lawyer Lan Tianbin analyzed that the National Bureau of Letters and Calls itself is a department that handles the letters and calls of the masses and ensures the smooth flow of letters and calls channels.
Zhang Kuixiang’s online complaints to the National Bureau of Letters and Calls may also be the exercise of citizens’ legitimate rights. The motives and purposes of the crime of provoking trouble are “seeking excitement, venting emotions, showing off, and making trouble out of nothing.” Complaining online to the National Bureau of Letters and Calls to express demands cannot be simply understood as making trouble out of nothing, and cannot be simply understood as provoking trouble.
Whether complaining online to the National Bureau of Letters and Calls constitutes “creating disturbances in public places” is questionable, and whether it “causes serious disorder in public order” is also questionable.
Lawyer Lan Tianbin said that in recent years, many netizens have worried that the crime of provoking trouble has a tendency to be a catch-all crime, and they are worried about the excessive application of the crime of provoking trouble, which should attract the attention of relevant departments.
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