On May 11, the Qianxi County Court in Tangshan City, Hebei Province, issued a first-instance verdict, finding Qu Xiaoling guilty of assaulting a police officer. Due to her illness that renders her unable to speak normally, she struggled to say, “I believe I am innocent,” and filed an appeal. In July 2021, Qu Xiaoling and her family were involved in a physical altercation with the police (resulting in minor injuries) while resisting the illegal forced demolition by the town government, leading to the accusation of assaulting a police officer. She has persistently claimed self-defense.
According to a report from “New Yellow River” on May 28, the Tangshan City Qianxi County Court held a public hearing on May 9, 2023, to try this case. After nine extensions in court proceedings, the Qianxi County Court finally delivered a first-instance judgment on May 11, 2026, ruling that Qu Xiaoling was guilty of assaulting a police officer but exempted from criminal punishment.
Qu Xiaoling’s condition has resulted in her inability to speak normally. She removed her mask and struggled to utter six words, “I believe I am innocent.” Dissatisfied with the first-instance verdict, she believes in her innocence and has entrusted her lawyer to appeal to the Tangshan Intermediate Court.
Previously reported by mainland media, in July 2021, during the illegal land acquisition process by the Leizhuang Town government, Qu Xiaoling, who suffers from nasal natural killer cell lymphoma, and her family clashed with the police in resistance to the unlawful forced demolition. Three police officers were injured, including Feng Guozhong, the team leader of the special police team, who sustained minor injuries from being attacked with a kitchen knife by Qu Xiaoling. Subsequently, Qu Xiaoling was charged with assaulting a police officer by the Qianxi County Prosecutor’s Office.
Qu Xiaoling’s defense argued that during the government’s entry into Leizhuang Town on July 20, 2021, there were no court enforcement personnel present, which constituted illegal actions. The Luancheng Public Security Bureau, despite knowing that the forced land acquisition administrative actions were illegal, deployed public security officers to participate in land acquisition and demolition activities that were not police duties, “their actions were not in accordance with the law.”
Moreover, Qu Xiaoling formally accused Wang Xiaoguo, the former deputy director of the Luancheng Public Security Bureau, in court, alleging that he unlawfully deployed a large number of police forces to participate in illegal violent land acquisition activities, indicating suspected abuse of power.
On May 28, topics labeled “First-instance verdict of Tangshan peasant assaulting a police officer case” and “Defendant in peasant assaulting police case speaks out” have sparked attention on social media.
Netizens expressed their opinions, stating, “If it’s already illegal land acquisition, doesn’t it fall under ‘self-defense’? How can ordinary people deal with this?””Illegal land acquisition.” “Do you reason with bandits?”
“How should the act of law enforcement officers participating in illegal land acquisition be judged? Can it be considered a legitimate duty of the police? If it’s resistance to illegal actions, how can it be considered ‘assaulting police’?””Instead of solving the problem, they solve the people who raise the problem? If it’s already illegal land acquisition, can’t you resist?”
“If there’s no illegal land acquisition, this wouldn’t have happened. The police assisting in illegal acts themselves are breaking the law. There’s initial unlawful infringement; resistance follows, constituting self-defense.”
“Illegal land acquisition, does that count as self-defense? A peasant against three police officers shouldn’t be considered excessive defense. Are there injury assessment reports? What kind of injuries, significant or not, is the force of the injury excessive? Clarify the illegal land acquisition first.”
“How is the government handling its illegal actions and those responsible?” “Support the appeal. Why the illegal land acquisition? There’s a sequence of events; things have a sequence. They should be dealt with together. Since it’s illegal land acquisition, then the people are legally defending their rights, legally defending themselves. Support innocence.” “I believe in innocence.” “Indeed innocent!”