“Chongqing Homeowners’ Rights Defense Suppressed, Multiple People Detained (2026.01.21)”
On January 21, homeowners at the AVIC MYtown residential complex in Chongqing’s Liangjiang New Area were suppressed by police while protesting the property management’s forced collection of parking fees. Multiple people were taken away by the police.
In Qing’an County, Suihua City, Heilongjiang Province, Donghe Agricultural Group has withheld 19 million yuan in grain payments for four years. Farmers’ repeated attempts to seek redress have been unsuccessful. Not only has the local government remained inactive for an extended period, but on January 20, it also detained four farmers who went to government offices to protest.
January 21 — About 700 workers at the Shiyan branch of Shenzhen Maike Brothers Technology Co., Ltd. went on strike collectively, protesting that the company secretly relocated the factory in order to evade compensation.
Documentary: Thousands of “Digital Moms” Rally to Support “Xiao Luoxi”
“Most netizens came from provinces and cities outside of Ningbo, with some even traveling from Xinjiang, over 4,000 kilometers away.”
“With the exception of personnel arranged by the court itself, no one was permitted to enter the courtroom to observe the proceedings.”
“Many netizens who could not be there in person sent supplies such as milk tea and mineral water to those on-site via food delivery apps.”
“One young female delivery worker even purchased heat packs for the netizens at her own expense.”
“Network signals were suspected to have been jammed by the authorities, preventing them from sending out real-time updates. Additionally, multiple netizens reported that their livestreams were blocked and their accounts banned.”
“Dozens of ‘unidentified individuals’ appeared at the scene. Organized by ringleaders, they held national flags and shouted slogans; some even mistakenly shouted ‘Go elementary school students’ instead of ‘Go Xiao Luoxi.’ After being rejected when attempting to distribute flags to the netizens, these individuals briefly clashed with the crowd.”
“Their performance was called out on the spot by a brave woman who asked: ‘Who paid for these flags? Do you think people can’t see you’re acting? What kind of patriotic charade are you staging here?'”
“At noon, the trial concluded. The ride-hailing vehicle carrying Xiao Luoxi’s mother appeared inside the court compound. The crowd instantly erupted, shouting slogans such as ‘Stay strong!’, ‘Go Deng Rongrong!’, and ‘Long live the Chinese people!’ Suddenly, the vehicle stopped. Xiao Luoxi’s mother and grandmother stepped out, bowing and kneeling to thank the netizens. Witnessing this scene, the netizens on-site were moved to tears.”
“On that day, none of the ‘Big Vs’ (verified influencers), internet celebrities, or stars that netizens had expected showed up. The scene was filled entirely with the most ordinary ‘digital moms’ and ‘digital dads’ from across China. As one netizen stated: ‘Only ordinary people help ordinary people.’ Another netizen commented on social media: ‘If Xiao Luoxi loses, that will be the best advertisement for sterilization. Because we ordinary people cannot protect our own children.'”
January 19: Hundreds of workers at the Jialaimeng shoe factory in Jinjiang, Fujian went on a collective strike to protest repeated cuts in piece-rate wages. The reductions have forced workers to work more than ten hours a day, yet their monthly pay is only around 3,000 yuan.
On January 19, in the Dongfang Xuefu Yayuan residential complex in Liangshan County, Jining, Shandong, homeowners protested against the developer’s plan to build a nursing home within the community. The protest was suppressed by Chinese Communist Party police, and at least two people were taken away.
On January 19, the highly watched “Xiao Luoxi” case was heard in the Haishu District Court of Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. Thousands of so-called “online moms” and “online dads” from across China gathered outside the courthouse to show their support. At the scene, a courageous woman loudly questioned dozens of people holding national flags: “Who paid for these flags? Do you really think people can’t tell this is staged? What kind of so-called patriotic performance are you putting on?” Most of those holding the flags were wearing masks and were suspected to have been organized by the local authorities.
After a Year of Resistance, Justice Won: Thousands of Yunnan Farmers Escort the Elder Whose Body Was Seized (2026.01.14)
On January 14, 2026, in Fengyan Village of Linkou Township, Zhenxiong County, southwestern China’s Yunnan Province, thousands of farmers spontaneously poured into the village’s Tianba hamlet. They were not heading to a market, nor celebrating a festival, but seeing off an elderly woman they had never met, accompanying her on her final journey. The funeral procession stretched for several kilometers; firecrackers erupted in unison, drums and music thundered, echoing through the mountain valleys. What kind of elder was she, to move the hearts of so many? The answer begins thirteen months earlier.
In the early hours of December 20, 2024, before dawn had broken, Tianba hamlet in Fengyan Village—and several surrounding hamlets—suddenly lost power. The village was plunged into darkness, and residents’ surveillance systems all failed at once. Soon after, a team led by the county Political and Legal Affairs Committee—more than two hundred people including civil servants, police, and other personnel—quietly entered the village. They had a single objective: to dig up a grave and seize a body.
The body exhumed belonged to an elderly woman who had been buried for eighteen days. She came from the poorest family in Tianba hamlet. The old house she had lived in during her lifetime had previously been forcibly demolished by village- and township-level authorities. When she passed away in the winter of 2024, officials from the village and township repeatedly visited the family, demanding that the body be transported to the county seat for cremation. But cremation meant transportation costs, labor costs, and cremation fees—expenses the destitute family simply could not afford. In despair, the family even told officials, “If it must be cremated, then you take her yourselves.” The government, however, refused to cover any costs. In the end, the family buried her according to local custom.
After the burial, police station and township officials came to the home many times, repeatedly urging the family to hand over the remains and even offering “compensation.” The family consistently refused—they could not bring themselves to do it.
Eighteen days later, the body-seizure operation was carried out. The new grave was dug up, and the elderly woman’s remains were forcibly taken away. Throughout the process, officials presented no legal documents to the family. Police restrained the elderly and children in the household and escorted the family away as if they were criminals. When villagers tried to record the scene on their phones, the devices were immediately confiscated, and several villagers were taken to the police station.
This incident could have ended, like so many others, in fear and silence. But this time, the family did not yield. They began speaking out online, reporting what had happened, and persistently filing petitions, appeals, and protests. Their persistence lasted more than a year.
Meanwhile, beginning in November 2025, villagers in Zhongtun Town—dozens of kilometers away—launched a large-scale movement against forced cremation. After more than two months and multiple mass actions, the Zhongtun town government was compelled to abolish its forced cremation policy. In early January 2026, news arrived from Linkou Township as well: the forced cremation policy had been canceled. The elderly woman’s ashes were finally returned to her family. More than a year later, she was at last laid to rest again.
When the news spread, the entire Linkou Township was shaken. Villagers understood clearly that without the Tianba family’s year-long persistence, the policy would likely have continued. In their eyes, this was no longer just an ordinary household, but the heroes of the entire township. What they reclaimed was human dignity itself. The funeral procession that stretched beyond sight, and the firecrackers that blanketed the mountains and shook the valleys, were the most solemn—and the heaviest—tribute to a year-long, unyielding struggle.
On the evening of January 15, dozens of property owners from Yao’ye Plaza in Shimen County, Changde, Hunan, surrounded the Shimen County Public Security Bureau, demanding that the authorities release several rights-defending owners who had been taken away earlier that day. The protest did not end until around 2:00 a.m. the following morning, after the detained owners were released. Due to long-term wage arrears, the owners of the small partitioned shops at Yao’ye Plaza had previously gone to the local government on January 12 to seek redress.
“Hundreds of Villagers March in Chengmai, Hainan, Clashing with Police (2026.01.13)”
On January 13, hundreds of villagers from Shanchao Village, Jinjiang Town, Chengmai County, Hainan Province, marched while holding banners to protest a local strongman’s forcible seizure of their land. During the protest, villagers became involved in a fierce clash with police who attempted to block their rights-defense action.