On May 14th, at 3 p.m., the administrative review case filed by the rights activist Zhu Haiyan against the Shimen County government in Hunan Province was heard at the Intermediate People’s Court in Changde, Hunan. The defendant, Shimen County Magistrate Zhang Shitian, did not appear in court. During the trial, the defendant unexpectedly submitted a list of 17 new pieces of evidence in violation of regulations. Faced with this unfairness, Zhu Haiyan requested a postponement of the trial, and the court eventually announced an adjournment.
Zhu Haiyan’s daughter was bullied and oppressed by teachers at school, and the support of the county government behind the school and the teachers made it difficult for her to seek justice. In September 2025, while working in Guangxi, Zhu Haiyan was summoned across provinces by the Shimen County police. During the interrogation at the Qingxiu District Public Security Bureau in Nanning, Guangxi, Zhu Haiyan was forcibly made to sit in an interrogation chair, prohibited from communicating, drinking water, and more.
Subsequently, Zhu Haiyan applied for an administrative review, which was rejected by the Shimen County government on the grounds of not meeting the acceptance requirements. She then sued the Shimen County government, demanding recognition of the illegal summons, an apology, and compensation from the state.
Informant Zhou Zhi told Dajiyuan that during the court trial on May 14th this year, the defendant Shimen County government unexpectedly presented 17 new pieces of evidence. Zhu Haiyan pointed out that on February 8th, she had submitted a written objection to the court and requested the court to obtain relevant evidence. However, the defendant did not serve it in advance, did not provide the parties enough time to prepare for the inquiry, and the sudden submission of evidence was illegal and violated the regulations requiring early organization of pre-trial evidence exchange for complex administrative cases.
Zhu Haiyan immediately applied for an adjournment of the trial. In the end, the court announced an adjournment.
Zhou Zhi said that besides the above issues, there were two procedural doubts during the trial. Firstly, Zhu Haiyan had previously applied to the court to obtain the law enforcement videos and full records of the 12389 complaints from the Nanning Public Security Bureau, but the court did not provide them according to the law, instead handing over the plaintiff’s application to the defendant and the third party, Shimen County Branch of the Public Security Bureau. Secondly, the third party submitted law enforcement case files and interrogation videos but refused public cross-examination under the pretext of “privacy,” requesting a private trial. After Zhu Haiyan objected, they then claimed it involved the privacy of non-related individuals.
In addition, the Shimen County government’s lawyer also insulted Zhu Haiyan’s character, accusing her of maliciously petitioning, abusing judicial resources, abusing litigation rights, and repeatedly causing trouble. “This is defamation and slander. Isn’t filing a lawsuit a legal right? Zhu Haiyan requested the court to discipline the lawyer through a trial,” Zhou Zhi said.
Zhu Haiyan’s rights protection case can be traced back to a few years ago when her daughter was bullied by a teacher.
Despite her daughter’s excellent academic performance, she was bullied and oppressed by teachers at school, which led to depression and a suicide attempt by jumping into a river.
Zhu Haiyan reported the school’s dereliction of duty, but with the protection of the deputy secretary of the Shimen County Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Chinese Communist Party, the school and the implicated teachers’ attitudes worsened, hindering the progress of her rights protection efforts.
In September 2025, Zhu Haiyan invited an online user to a WeChat group, and the user subsequently reposted an article exposing the illegal and disciplinary violations of the deputy secretary of the Shimen County Commission for Discipline Inspection. On September 28th, the Shimen County police crossed provinces to Nanning, Guangxi, and forcibly took Zhu Haiyan, who was working, away for interrogation on grounds of “suspected insulting behavior.”
Zhou Zhi stated that Zhu Haiyan will continue to seek justice and accountability through legal avenues.